Method for differentiating cannabis plant cultivars based on cannabinoid synthase paralogs

ABSTRACT

Compositions and methods for providing desired cannabinoid content in cannabis plants. More particularly, the invention relates to compositions and methods for using cannabinoid synthase paralogs as guidance for breeding cannabis plants with a desired cannabinoid content, including but not limited to cultivars, varieties, lines and methods of breeding the same for commercial use.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a 371 of International Application No. PCT/US2018/054199, filed Oct. 3, 2018, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/567,753, filed Oct. 3, 2017. The entire contents of these applications are hereby incorporated herein by reference.

INCORPORATION OF SEQUENCE LISTING

-   -   A computer readable form of the Sequence Listing,         10102-2000100SequenceListing.txt (43,000 bytes), submitted via         EFS-WEB and amended on Apr. 2, 2020, is herein incorporated by         reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates generally to the fields of genetic technology and botany. In particular, the present invention relates to cannabinoid synthase genes, paralogs thereof, and uses thereof.

BACKGROUND

Cannabis is an angiosperm from the family cannabacea that has been cultivated for thousands of years for multiple purposes, including, in particular, the production of secondary metabolites known as cannabinoids. Cannabis cultivation is now a multibillion dollar industry that centers on the two most well-known cannabinoids; delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinolic acid (THCA) and Cannabidolic acid (CBDA). THCA is most commonly associated with psychoactive effects. CBDA has gained popularity for its non-psychoactive medicinal uses. THCA and CBDA are the final products of a three-step biochemical pathway. The last step in the pathway is catalyzed by the enzymes THCA and CBDA synthase, respectively.

Duplication and deletion of genomic regions may result in gene copy number (CN) variation or paralogs, which have been shown to be common in plant genes related to stress or disease resistance (Delledonne et al. 1998; Gaines et al. 2010; Żmieńko et al. 2014). It has been proposed that the ecological function of cannabinoids is to protect the plant from external stressors (ie. UV light, herbivory, & pathogens) (Langenheim 1994; McPartland et al. 2000; Sirikantaramas et al. 2005), and the genes coding for these cannabinoid synthases are found in multiple, divergent paralogs (Onofri et al. 2015) that vary in CN and alleles between and within lineages. An example of a particularly significant variation is the preeminence of functionally-compromised CBDAS alleles among high-THCA cultivars (Onofri et al. 2015). Complex traits such as cannabinoid content often consist of multiple loci that make it difficult to determine their location or copy number. Due to sequence similarity, determining their sequence is problematic.

Therefore, there is a need for accurate methods of identifying distinct cannabinoid synthase paralogs and determining paralog copy number in a cannabis cultivar to guide the cultivation of cannabis cultivars having specific cannabinoid contents and concentrations.

SUMMARY

The inventors have developed specific PCR primers and probes that amplify unique regions within cannabinoid synthase paralogs (CBDA synthases) that are directly responsible for the production of CBDA in the cannabis plant. The inventors have also found SNPs in the amplified regions of these cannabinoid synthase paralogs and other possible SNPs throughout the whole cannabis plant genome that influence cannabinoid production.

Thus, this disclosure provides a method for producing a cannabis plant cultivar, including identifying paralogs of a cannabinoid synthase gene in two or more cannabis plant cultivars; and crossbreeding two individual cannabis plant cultivars identified to have desired effects on cannabinoid production in the cannabis plant. In these methods, the cannabinoid synthase gene may be selected from delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinolic acid (THCA) and Cannabidolic acid (CBDA) synthase. In these methods, the cannabinoid synthase gene may be the CBDA synthase gene.

In these methods, the identifying step may comprise PCR amplification of a composition comprising genomic DNA from the two or more cannabis plant cultivars. In these methods, the identifying step may comprise PCR amplification using a primer set selected from the group consisting of:

F: (SEQ ID NO: 13) 5′ TCACCTCTAACACAACCCCAAAA 3′ R: (SEQ ID NO: 14) 5′ CCAAAAGAGATCTTCCCCCATA 3′, and F: (SEQ ID NO: 15) 5′ GCGTTGTACCCTTACGGTTG 3′ R: (SEQ ID NO: 16) 5′ TTTTGACTCTTGGGATCATTTATTC 3′.

In these methods, the crossbreeding may select for a cannabis plant cultivar having a greater CBDA content than the two identified individual cannabis plant cultivars. Alternatively or additionally, the crossbreeding may select for a cannabis plant cultivar having a lower CBDA content than the two identified individual cannabis plant cultivars. In these methods, the CBDA content of the cannabis plant cultivar resulting from the crossbreeding step may result from i) greater enzymatic activity of a CBDA paralog identified in two or more cannabis plant cultivars, and/or ii) greater copy number of a CBDA. In these methods, the cannabinoid content of the cannabis plant cultivar resulting from the crossbreeding step is a result of a protein selected from a protein listed in Table 3 of this disclosure. In these methods, the identified paralog may be at least one of paralogs 008242 and/or 00395.

In these methods, the crossbreeding may also include crossing a first cannabis plant wherein the first cannabis plant provides desired cannabinoid content, with a second cannabis plant, and harvesting the resultant hybrid cannabis seed. Alternatively or additionally, the crossbreeding may include introgressing CBDA production into hybrid cannabis seeds. The crossbreeding may also include one or more of a backcrossing, an outcrossing, and a self-crossing.

In these methods, the cannabis cultivar may comprise one or more DNA molecular markers associated with CBDA synthase activity. Thus, in these methods, the identification of paralogs of a cannabinoid synthase gene may also include molecular marker analysis of DNA samples isolated from one or more of a progeny plant, a second cannabis plant, a high CBDA producing cannabis cultivar, a parental cannabis cultivar, and a low CBDA producing cannabis cultivar, wherein said analysis identifies DNA molecules associated with CBDA content in the cannabis plant. In these methods, the molecular marker may include a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP). In these methods, the molecular marker may encode at least one amino acid substitution identified in the CBDA synthase gene selected from the amino acid substitutions set forth in FIGS. 3A-3C of this disclosure.

This disclosure also provides a cannabis plant cultivar produced by the methods of this disclosure. These cannabis plant cultivars may be obtained by crossbreeding two individuals selected from the group consisting of the cultivar produced by the methods of this disclosure, and a progeny of such cultivar.

This disclosure also provides a PCR primer selected from the group consisting of

(SEQ ID NO: 13) 5′ TCACCTCTAACACAACCCCAAAA 3′ (SEQ ID NO: 14) 5′ CCAAAAGAGATCTTCCCCCATA 3′ (SEQ ID NO: 15) 5′ GCGTTGTACCCTTACGGTTG 3′, and (SEQ ID NO: 16) 5′ TTTTGACTCTTGGGATCATTTATTC 3′.

This disclosure also provides a composition comprising the PCR primer set

(SEQ ID NO: 13) 5′ TCACCTCTAACACAACCCCAAAA 3′ and (SEQ ID NO: 14) 5′ CCAAAAGAGATCTTCCCCCATA 3′.

This disclosure also provides a composition comprising the PCR primer set

(SEQ ID NO: 15) 5′ GCGTTGTACCCTTACGGTTG 3′ and (SEQ ID NO: 16) 5′ TTTTGACTCTTGGGATCATTTATTC 3′.

Kits and conditions useful in conducting the assays are also provided.

This Summary is neither intended nor should it be construed as being representative of the full extent and scope of the present invention. Moreover, references made herein to “the present disclosure,” or aspects thereof, should be understood to mean certain embodiments of the present disclosure and should not necessarily be construed as limiting all embodiments to a particular description. The present invention is set forth in various levels of detail in this Summary as well as in the attached figures and the Detailed Description and no limitation as to the scope of the present disclosure is intended by either the inclusion or non-inclusion of elements, components, etc. in this Summary. Additional aspects of the present disclosure will become more readily apparent from the Detailed Description, particularly when taken together with the figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES

FIGS. 1A-1C show the Neighbor-Joining Trees constructed for each primer set: (FIG. 1A) c395, (FIG. 1B) c8242, and (FIG. 1C) d589 and a full length berberine-bridge containing enzymes with a 100-bootstrap support. Branches with less than 70% bootstrap support are collapsed. Eighteen sequences of 342 nt, 23 sequences of 236 nt, and 31 sequences of 448 nt were input to MEGA for the c395, c8242, and d589 primer sets respectively. All trees included the studied paralogs (0395.1, 0745.1, 8229.1, and 1769.1 from the PBBK assembly) and outgroups (E33090.1, AB292682.1, and 2 CBCAS genes) for comparison between the trees.

FIGS. 2A-2F show the Normalized Cannabinoid Effect Size for SNPs in three PCR amplicons. Each figure shows the normalized effect size in cannabinoid concentration of a given variety if it contains that SNP at a given position. Normalized effect size refers to the percent variation in cannabinoid content ranging between −1 to 1, to describe from −100%-100% change in percentage of that cannabinoid with that SNP present FIGS. 1A and 1B show the variation in five positions for the amplicons from primer c395. FIGS. 1C and 1D show the variation in nine positions in the amplified region by primer c8242. FIGS. 1E and 1F show the variation in four positions for the amplified region produced by primer d589. For each site shown at the bottom of the panels, the common nucleotide is shown in parenthesis, which when replaced with the mutant base produces a positive or negative effect on cannabinoid content. The notation used in the legend for SNP designation is “location in gene-mutant base (wild-type base)”. Bars that have more than one position represent nucleotides with the same normalized effect size.

FIGS. 3A-3C show tables of Amino Acid Substitutions in Amplified Regions: Only the non-synonymous amino acid substitutions that were observed from the inventors' amplicons are shown in single letter amino acid code for the c395 (FIG. 3A), c8242 (FIG. 3B), and d589 (FIG. 3C) amplified regions. Amino add sites that were conserved between cultivars are not shown in the tables, nor are the SNPs encoding these non-synonymous substitutions. The positions are listed in reference to the published gene for THCAS/CBDAS listed by accession number on the tables (E33090/AB292682.1). The light and dark gray highlighting of amino acid sites show the minor allelic variants of these synthase genes. A question mark (?) denotes an amino acid that could not be determined due to an ambiguous sanger sequencing or a heterozygote site. An asterisk (*) signifies that an internal stop codon was present within the amplified region. All cultivars amplified by the primers were used in this analysis; however, some varieties were eliminated from the downstream analysis due to the lack of chemotypic or relationship data.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

To facilitate an understanding of the present invention, a number of terms and phrases are defined below:

The use of the article “a” or “an” is intended to include one or more.

As used herein, the term “cannabis” refers to any flowering plant in the family Cannabaceae. This may include the species Cannabis sativa, Cannabis indica, and Cannabis ruderalis.

As used herein, the term “plant” is used in it broadest sense. It includes, but is not limited to, any species of woody, ornamental or decorative, crop or cereal, fruit or vegetable, fruit plant or vegetable plant, flower or tree, macroalga or microalga, phytoplankton and photosynthetic algae (e.g., green algae Chlamydomonas reinhardtii). A plant also refers to a unicellular plant (e.g. microalga) and a plurality of plant cells that are largely differentiated into a colony (e.g. volvox) or a structure that is present at any stage of a plants development Such structures include, but are not limited to, a fruit, a seed, a shoot, a stem, a leaf, etc.

As used herein, the term “seed” refers to a fertilized and ripened ovule of a plant, consisting of an embryo and a casing.

As used herein, the term “hybrid” in reference to a seed or plant is produced as the result of controlled cross-pollination as opposed to a non-hybrid seed produced as the result of natural pollination, as in a “hybrid cannabis seed” produced by breeding methods of the present invention.

The terms “leaf” and “leaves” refer to a usually flat, green structure attached to a stem or branch of a plant wherein photosynthesis and transpiration take place.

The term “stem” refers to a main ascending axis of a plant.

“Node” refers to the joint of a stem and the region of attachment of leaves on a stem.

As used herein, the term “plant tissue” includes differentiated and undifferentiated tissues of plants including those present in roots, shoots, leaves, pollen, seeds and tumors, as well as cells in culture (e.g., single cells, protoplasts, embryos, callus, etc.). Plant tissue may be in planta, in organ culture, tissue culture, or cell culture.

As used herein, the term “plant part” refers to a plant structure or a plant tissue, for example, pollen, an ovule, a tissue, a pod, a seed, and a cell. In some embodiments of the present invention transgenic plants are crop plants.

As used herein, the term “line” refers to a nursery term to describe a group of individuals from similar parentage with similar traits.

As used herein, the term “cultivar” refers to an unvarying variety of plant propagated by man using selective hybridization and maintained by vegetative propagation or by inbred seed.

As used herein, the term “cannabis cultivar” is used in its broadest sense and includes but is not limited to any species of cannabis that is cultivated by man.

As used herein, the term “cultivated” in reference to a plant includes any plant or plant part grown and maintained by man for use in food compositions or in nonfood compositions.

As used herein, the terms “variety” and “varietas” refer to a rank of taxa below subspecies but above forma for example a plant which retains most of the characteristics of the species, but differs in some way, such as CBDA content or THCA content.

As used herein, the terms “F-generation” and “filial generation” refers to any of the consecutive generations of cells, tissues or organisms after a biparental cross. The generation resulting from a mating of the a biparental cross (i.e. parents) is the first filial generation (designated as “F1”) in reference to a seed and it's plant, while that resulting from crossing of F1 individuals is the second filial generation (designated as “F2”) in reference to a seed and it's plant. For example, an F2 seed and a resulting plant are produced by self-pollination of F1, while later F generations are produced from self-pollination of the immediate prior generation.

As used herein, the terms “germplasm” refers to any genetic material of plants, animals or other organisms containing functional units of heredity.

As used herein, the term “hybrid” refers to a seed and a plant produced as the result of controlled pollination as opposed to a seed and a plant produced as the result of natural pollination.

As used herein, the term “trait” refers to an observable and/or measurable characteristic of an organism, such as a trait of a plant, for example, THCA production or CBDA production.

As used herein, the terms “marker” and “DNA marker” and “molecular marker” in reference to a “selectable marker” refers to a physiological or morphological trait which may be determined as marker for its own selection or for selection of other traits closely linked to that marker, for example, a gene or trait that associates with aphid resistance, such as a marker, such as a DNA marker including but not limited to simple sequence repeat (SSR), single nucleotide polymorphism analysis (SNP), random amplified polymorphic DNA analysis (RAPID), amplified fragment length polymorphism analysis (AFLP), and the like that will link phenotype information, such as aphid resistance to a QTL locus, to provide a genomic map, for example a fingerprint map, and chromosome location and/or map.

As used herein, the term “linkage group” refers to a group of two or more genetically or physically mapped loci with observed linkage to a trait, for example, one or more of a SSR, SNP, AFLP, and RAPD marker of the present invention that may map to CBDA production.

As used herein, the term “selection” refers to the process of determining the relative cannabinoid production of a cannabis cultivar.

As used herein, the term “introgress” and “introgressing” refers to incorporating a genetic substance, such as germplasm, loci, allele, gene, DNA, and the like for introducing a trait into an organism, such as a plant, a cannabis cultivar and the like, for example, incorporating aphid resistant germplasm into a previously aphid susceptible plant variety. Introgression may refer to a breeding method for incorporating a genetic trait, such as aphid resistance, including compositions and methods for using QTL, DNA markers including but not limited to simple sequence repeat (SSR), single nucleotide polymorphism analysis (SNP), random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD), amplified fragment length polymorphism analysis (AFLP), DNA fingerprinting, and the like for incorporating CBDA and/or THCA production germplasm into a plant variety.

As used herein, the terms “quantitative trait locus” and “QTL” refer to a genomic region including a gene underlying a trait on which many genes act.

As used herein, the terms “simple sequence repeat” and “SSR” refer to short, tandem repeat nucleotide sequences that are useful as genetic markers, for example, microsatellite DNA is a highly polymorphic DNA marker comprised of mononucleotides, dinucleotides, trinucleotides or tetra-nucleotides that are repeated in tandem arrays and distributed throughout the genome, such as CA (alternatively GT) dinucleotide repeats.

As used herein, the terms “single nucleotide polymorphism” and “SNP” refer to a single base difference between two DNA sequences.

As used herein, the terms “random amplified polymorphic DNA” and “RAPD” refer to a common technique for amplifying anonymous stretches of DNA using PCR with arbitrary primers, for example, using random PCR primers used to amplify genomic DNA to provide a pattern of bands, such that one pattern of bands may be different between individuals in a population, such as between aphid resistant and aphid susceptible plants or show germplasm differences between closely related plants.

As used herein, the terms “restriction fragment length polymorphism” and “RFLP” refer to genetic variation between individuals such that DNA fragment sizes resulting from a difference in DNA sequence that affects the recognition sequence for restriction enzymes when cut by specific restriction enzymes. When a particular enzyme digests DNA the fragment sizes will differ depending on the presence or absence of the proper recognition sequence for the enzyme. Polymorphic sequences that result in RFLPs are used as markers on both physical maps and genetic linkage maps. RFLPs can be caused by a change in at least one nucleotide at a cutting site.

As used herein, the terms “amplified fragment length polymorphism” and “AFLP” refer to a highly sensitive method for detecting polymorphisms in DNA. Following restriction enzyme digestion of DNA, a subset of DNA fragments is selected for PCR amplification and visualization.

As used herein, the term “DNA fingerprinting” refers to techniques for uniquely identifying an individual among a population based on one's DNA. This type of method of isolating and visualizing sequences of DNA may show a unique pattern of DNA fragments revealed by Southern hybridization or by a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis.

As used herein, the term “polymerase chain reaction” and “PCR” refer to the method of K. B. Mullis (U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,683,195 4,683,202, and 4,965,188, hereby incorporated by reference), which describe a method for increasing the concentration of a segment of a target sequence in a mixture of genomic DNA without cloning or purification. This process for amplifying the target sequence consists of introducing an excess of two oligonucleotide primers to the DNA mixture containing the desired target sequence, followed by a precise sequence of thermal cycling in the presence of a DNA polymerase. The two primers are complementary to their respective strands of the double stranded target sequence. To effect amplification, the mixture is denatured and the primers then annealed to their complementary sequences within the target molecule. Following annealing, the primers are extended with a polymerase so as to form a new pair of complementary strands. The steps of denaturation, primer annealing and polymerase extension can be repeated many times (i.e., denaturation, annealing and extension constitute one “cycle”; there can be numerous “cycles”) to obtain a high concentration of an amplified segment of the desired target sequence. The length of the amplified segment of the desired target sequence is determined by the relative positions of the primers with respect to each other, and therefore, this length is a controllable parameter. By virtue of the repeating aspect of the process, the method is referred to as the “polymerase chain reaction” (hereinafter “PCR”). Because the desired amplified segments of the target sequence become the predominant sequences (in terms of concentration) in the mixture, they are said to be “PCR amplified.”

As used herein, the term “primer” refers to an oligonucleotide, whether occurring naturally as in a purified restriction digest or produced synthetically, which is capable of acting as a point of initiation of synthesis when placed under conditions in which synthesis of a primer extension product which is complementary to a nucleic acid strand is induced, (i.e., in the presence of nucleotides and an inducing agent such as DNA polymerase and at a suitable temperature and pH). The primer is preferably single stranded for maximum efficiency in amplification, but may alternatively be double stranded. If double stranded, the primer is first treated to separate its strands before being used to prepare extension products. Preferably, the primer is an oligodeoxyribonucleotide. The primer must be sufficiently long to prime the synthesis of extension products in the presence of the inducing agent. The exact lengths of the primers will depend on many factors, including temperature, source of primer and the use of the method.

As used herein, the terms “PCR product,” “PCR fragment,” and “amplification product” refer to the resultant mixture of compounds after two or more cycles of the PCR steps of denaturation, annealing and extension are complete. These terms encompass the case where there has been amplification of one or more segments of one or more target sequences.

As used herein, the term “gene” refers to a nucleic acid (e.g., DNA or RNA) sequence that comprises coding sequences necessary for the production of RNA, or a polypeptide or its precursor (e.g., proinsulin). A functional polypeptide can be encoded by a full-length coding sequence or by any portion of the coding sequence as long as the desired activity or functional properties (e.g., enzymatic activity, ligand binding, signal transduction, etc.) of the polypeptide are retained. As used herein, the term “gene” encompasses the coding regions of a structural gene and includes sequences located adjacent to the coding region on both the 5′ and 3′ ends for a distance of about 1 kb on either end such that the gene corresponds to the length of the full-length mRNA.

As used herein, the term “portion” when used in reference to a gene refers to fragments of that gene. The fragments may range in size from a few nucleotides to the entire gene sequence minus one nucleotide.

As used herein, the term “a nucleotide comprising at least a portion of a gene” may comprise fragments of the gene or the entire gene.

As used herein, the terms “allele” and “alleles” refer to each version of a gene for a same locus that has more than one sequence. For example, there are multiple alleles for eye color at the same locus.

As used herein, the terms “recessive,” “recessive gene,” and “recessive phenotype” refers to an allele that has a phenotype when two alleles for a certain locus are the same as in “homozygous” or as in “homozygote,” and then partially or fully loses that phenotype when paired with a more dominant allele when two alleles for a certain locus are different as in “heterozygous” or in “heterozygote.”

As used herein, the terms “dominant,” and “dominant phenotype” refers to an allele that has an effect to suppress the expression of the other allele in a heterozygous (having one dominant and one recessive allele) condition.

As used herein, the term “heterologous” when used in reference to a gene or nucleic acid refers to a gene that has been manipulated in some way. For example, a heterologous gene includes a gene from one species introduced into another species. A heterologous gene also includes a gene native to an organism that has been altered in some way (e.g., mutated, added in multiple copies, linked to a non-native promoter or enhancer sequence, etc.). Examples of a heterologous gene includes a gene encoding an insecticidal protein, an herbicide resistant protein, or for providing an agronomic trait. Heterologous genes may comprise plant gene sequences that comprise cDNA forms of a plant gene; the cDNA sequences may be expressed in either a sense (to produce mRNA) or anti-sense orientation (to produce an anti-sense RNA transcript that is complementary to the mRNA transcript). Heterologous genes are distinguished from endogenous plant genes in that the heterologous gene sequences are typically joined to nucleotide sequences comprising regulatory elements such as promoters that are not found naturally associated with the gene for the protein encoded by the heterologous gene or with plant gene sequences in the chromosome, or are associated with portions of the chromosome not found in nature (e.g., genes expressed in loci where the gene is not normally expressed).

As used herein, the term “nucleic acid sequence,” “nucleotide sequence of interest” or “nucleic acid sequence of interest” refers to any nucleotide sequence (e.g., RNA or DNA), the manipulation of which may be deemed desirable for any reason (e.g., treat disease, confer improved qualities, etc.), by one of ordinary skill in the art. Such nucleotide sequences include, but are not limited to, coding sequences of structural genes (e.g., reporter genes, selection marker genes, oncogenes, drug resistance genes, growth factors, etc.), and non-coding regulatory sequences which do not encode an mRNA or protein product (e.g., promoter sequence, polyadenylation sequence, termination sequence, enhancer sequence, etc.).

As used herein, the term “structural” when used in reference to a gene or to a nucleotide or nucleic acid sequence refers to a gene or a nucleotide or nucleic acid sequence whose ultimate expression product is a protein (such as an enzyme or a structural protein), an rRNA, an sRNA, a tRNA, etc.

As used herein, the term “cDNA” refers to a nucleotide copy of the “messenger RNA” or “mRNA” for a gene. In some embodiments, cDNA is derived from the mRNA. In some embodiments, cDNA is derived from genomic sequences.

As used herein, the term “oligonucleotide” refers to a molecule comprised of two or more deoxyribonucleotides or ribonucleotides, preferably more than three, and usually more than ten. The exact size will depend on many factors, which in turn depends on the ultimate function or use of the oligonucleotide. The oligonucleotide may be generated in any manner, including chemical synthesis, DNA replication, reverse transcription, or a combination thereof.

As used herein, the term “polynucleotide” refers to refers to a molecule comprised of several deoxyribonucleotides or ribonucleotides, and is used interchangeably with oligonucleotide. Typically, oligonucleotide refers to shorter lengths, and polynucleotide refers to longer lengths, of nucleic acid sequences.

As used herein, the term “an oligonucleotide having a nucleotide sequence encoding a gene” or “a nucleic acid sequence encoding” a specified polypeptide refers to a nucleic acid sequence comprising the coding region of a gene or in other words the nucleic acid sequence that encodes a gene product. The coding region may be present either in a cDNA, genomic DNA or RNA form. When present in a DNA form, the oligonucleotide may be single-stranded (i.e., the sense strand) or double-stranded. Suitable control elements such as enhancers/promoters, splice junctions, polyadenylation signals, etc. may be placed in close proximity to the coding region of the gene if needed to permit proper initiation of transcription and/or correct processing of the primary RNA transcript. Alternatively, the coding region utilized in the expression vectors of the present invention may contain endogenous enhancers, exogenous promoters, splice junctions, intervening sequences, polyadenylation signals, etc. or a combination of both endogenous and exogenous control elements.

As used herein, the term “probe” refers to an oligonucleotide (i.e., a sequence of nucleotides), whether occurring naturally as in a purified restriction digest or produced synthetically, recombinantly or by PCR amplification, that is capable of hybridizing to another oligonucleotide of interest. A probe may be single-stranded or double-stranded. Probes are useful in the detection, identification and isolation of particular gene sequences. It is contemplated that any probe used in the present invention will be labeled with any “reporter molecule,” so that it is detectable in any detection system, including, but not limited to enzyme (e.g., ELISA, as well as enzyme-based histochemical assays), fluorescent, radioactive, and luminescent systems. It is not intended that the present invention be limited to any particular detection system or label.

As used herein, the term “expression” when used in reference to a nucleic acid sequence, such as a gene, refers to the process of converting genetic information encoded in a gene into RNA (e.g., mRNA, rRNA, tRNA, or snRNA) through “transcription” of the gene (i.e., via the enzymatic action of an RNA polymerase), and into protein where applicable (as when a gene encodes a protein), through “translation” of mRNA. Gene expression can be regulated at many stages in the process. “Up-regulation” or “activation” refers to regulation that increases the production of gene expression products (i.e., RNA or protein), while “down-regulation” or “repression” refers to regulation that decrease production. Molecules (e.g., transcription factors) that are involved in up-regulation or down-regulation are often called “activators” and “repressors,” respectively.

As used herein, the term “transfection” refers to the introduction of foreign DNA into cells. Transfection may be accomplished by a variety of means known to the art including calcium phosphate-DNA co-precipitation, DEAE-dextran-mediated transfection, polybrene-mediated transfection, glass beads, electroporation, microinjection, liposome fusion, lipofection, protoplast fusion, viral infection, biolistics (i.e., particle bombardment), Agrobacterium infection, and the like.

As used herein, the term “wild-type” when made in reference to a gene refers to a functional gene common throughout an outbred population. As used herein, the term “wild-type” when made in reference to a gene product refers to a functional gene product common throughout an outbred population. A functional wild-type gene is that which is most frequently observed in a population and is thus arbitrarily designated the “normal” or “wild-type” form of the gene.

As used herein, the terms “modified” or “mutant” when made in reference to a gene or to a gene product refers, respectively, to a gene or to a gene product which displays modifications in sequence and/or functional properties (i.e., altered characteristics) when compared to the wild-type gene or gene product. Thus, the terms “variant” and “mutant” when used in reference to a nucleotide sequence refer to a nucleic acid sequence that differs by one or more nucleotides from another, usually related nucleotide sequence. A “variation” is a difference between two different nucleotide sequences; typically, one sequence is a reference sequence.

As used herein, the term “polymorphic locus” refers to a genetic locus present in a population that shows variation between members of the population (i.e., the most common allele has a frequency of less than 0.95). Thus, “polymorphism” refers to the existence of a character in two or more variant forms in a population. A “single nucleotide polymorphism” and “SNP” refers a genetic locus of a single base that may be occupied by one of at least two different nucleotides. In contrast, a “monomorphic locus” refers to a genetic locus at which little or no variations are seen between members of the population (generally taken to be a locus at which the most common allele exceeds a frequency of 0.95 in the gene pool of the population).

As used herein, the terms “protein,” “polypeptide,” “peptide,” “encoded product,” “amino acid sequence,” are used interchangeably to refer to compounds comprising amino acids joined via peptide bonds. A “protein” encoded by a gene is not limited to the amino acid sequence encoded by the gene, but includes post-translational modifications of the protein. Where the term “amino acid sequence” is recited herein to refer to an amino acid sequence of a protein molecule, the term “amino acid sequence” and like terms, such as “polypeptide” or “protein” are not meant to limit the amino acid sequence to the complete, native amino acid sequence associated with the recited protein molecule. Furthermore, an “amino acid sequence” can be deduced from the nucleic acid sequence encoding the protein. The deduced amino acid sequence from a coding nucleic acid sequence includes sequences which are derived from the deduced amino acid sequence and modified by post-translational processing, where modifications include, but are not limited to, glycosylation, hydroxylations, phosphorylations, and amino acid deletions, substitutions, and additions. Thus, an amino acid sequence comprising a deduced amino acid sequence is understood to include post-translational modifications of the encoded and deduced amino acid sequence.

As used herein, the term “isolated” when used in relation to a nucleic acid such as an isolated DNA molecule or polypeptide, as in “an isolated oligonucleotide” refers to a nucleic acid sequence that is identified and separated from at least one contaminant nucleic acid with which it is ordinarily associated in its natural source. Isolated nucleic acid is present in a form or setting that is different from that in which it is found in nature. In contrast, non-isolated nucleic acids, such as DNA and RNA, are found in the state they exist in nature. For example, a given DNA sequence (e.g., a gene) is found on the host cell chromosome in proximity to neighboring genes; RNA sequences, such as a specific mRNA sequence encoding a specific protein, are found in the cell as a mixture with numerous other mRNAs that encode a multitude of proteins. However, isolated nucleic acid encoding a particular protein includes, by way of example, such nucleic acid in cells ordinarily expressing the protein, where the nucleic acid is in a chromosomal location different from that of natural cells, or is otherwise flanked by a different nucleic acid sequence than that found in nature. The isolated nucleic acid or oligonucleotide may be present in single-stranded or double-stranded form. When an isolated nucleic acid or oligonucleotide is to be utilized to express a protein, the oligonucleotide will contain, at a minimum, the sense or coding strand (i.e., the oligonucleotide may single-stranded), but may contain both the sense and anti-sense strands (i.e., the oligonucleotide may be double-stranded).

As used herein, the term “purified” refers to molecules, either nucleic or amino acid sequences, that are removed from their natural environment, isolated, or separated. An “isolated nucleic acid sequence” is therefore a purified nucleic acid sequence. “Substantially purified” molecules are at least 60% free, preferably at least 75% free, and more preferably at least 90% free from other components with which they are naturally associated. As used herein, the term “purified” or “to purify” also refer to the removal of contaminants from a sample. The removal of contaminating proteins results in an increase in the percent of polypeptide of interest in the sample. In another example, recombinant polypeptides are expressed in plant, bacterial, yeast, or mammalian host cells and the polypeptides are purified by the removal of host cell proteins; the percent of recombinant polypeptides is thereby increased in the sample.

As used herein, the term “portion” when used in reference to a protein (as in “a portion of a given protein”) refers to fragments of that protein. The fragments may range in size from four amino acid residues to the entire amino sequence minus one amino acid.

As used herein, the term “positional cloning” refers to an identification of a gene based on its physical location in the genome.

This disclosure contains the following Sequences

SEQ ID NO Description Sequence 1 Nucleotide ATGAATTGCTCAGCATTTTCCTTTTGGTTTGTTTGCAAAATAATATTTTT Sequence of CTTTCTCTCATTCCATATCCAAATTTCAATAGCTAATCCTCGAGAAAAC Paralog TTCCTTAAATGCTTCTCAAAACATATTCCCAACAATGTAGCAAATCCAA “001774F” AACTCGTATACACTCAACACGACCAATTGTATATGTCTATCCTGAATTC THCA GACAATACAAAATCTTAGATTCATCTCTGATACAACCCCAAAACCACTC Synthase GTTATTGTCACTCCTTCAAATAACTCCCATATCCAAGCAACTATTTTAT GCTCTAAGAAAGTTGGCTTGCAGATTCGAACTCGAAGCGGTGGCCAT GATGCTGAGGGTATGTCCTACATATCTCAAGTCCCATTTGTTGTAGTA GACTTGAGAAACATGCATTCGATCAAAATAGATGITCATAGCCAAACT GCGTGGGTTGAAGCCGGAGCTACCCTTGGAGAAGTTTATTATTGGATC AATGAGAAGAATGAGAATCTTAGTTTTCCTGGTGGGTATTGCCCTACT GTTGGCGTAGGTGGACACTTTAGTGGAGGAGGCTATGGAGCATTGAT GCGAAATTATGGCCTTGCGGCTGATAATATTATTGATGCACACTTAGT CAATGTTGATGGAAAAGTTCTAGATCGAAAATCCATGGGAGAAGATCT GTTTTGGGCTATACGTGGTGGTGGAGGAGAAAACTTTGGAATCATTGC AGCATGGAAAATCAAACTGGTTGCTGTCCCATCAAAGTCTACTATATTC AGTGTTAAAAAGAACATGGAGATACATGGGCTTGTCAAGTTATTTAACA AATGGCAAAATATTGCTTACAAGTATGACAAAGATTTAGTACTCATGAC TCACTTCATAACAAAGAATATTACAGATAATCATGGGAAGAATAAGACT ACAGTACATGGTTACTTCTCTTCAATTTTTCATGGTGGAGTGGATAGTC TAGTCGACTTGATGAACAAGAGCTTTCCTGAGTTGGGTATTAAAAAAA CTGATTGCAAAGAATTTAGCTGGATTGATACAACCATCTTCTACAGTGG TGTTGTAAATTTTAACACTGCTAATTTTAAAAAGGAAATTTTGCTTGATA GATCAGCTGGGAAGAAGACGGCT7TCTCAATTAAGTTAGACTATGTTA AGAAACCAATTCCAGAAACTGCAATGGTCAAAATTTTGGAAAAATTATA TGAAGAAGATGTAGGAGCTGGGATGTATGTGTTGTACCCTTACGGTG GTATAATGGAGGAGATTTCAGAATCAGCAATTCCATTCCCTCATCGAG CTGGAATAATGTATGAACTTTGGTACACTGCTTCCTGGGAGAAGCAAG AAGATAATGAAAAGCATATAAACTGGGTTCGAAGTGTTTATAATTTTAC GACTCCTTATGTGTCCCAAAATCCAAGATTGGCGTATCTCAATTATAGG GACCTTGATTTAGGAAAAACTAATCATGCGAGTCCTAATAATTACACAC AAGCACGTATTTGGGGTGAAAAGTATTTTGGTAAAAATTTTAACAGGTT AGTTAAGGTGAAAACTAAAGTTGATCCCAATAATTTTTTTAGAAACGAA CAAAGTATCCCACCTCTTCCACCGCATCATCATTAA 2 Amino Acid MNCSAFSFWFVCKIIFFFLSFHIQISIANPRENFLKCFSKHIPNNVANPKLVY Sequence of TQHDQLYMSILNSTIQNLRFISDTTPKPLVIVTPSNNSHIQATILCSKKVGLQ Paralog IRTRSGGHDAEGMSYISQVPFVVVDLRNMHSIKIDVHSQTAWVEAGATLG “001774F” EVYYWINEKNENLSFPGGYCPTVGVGGHFSGGGYGALMRNYGLAADNII THCA DAHLVNVDGKVLDRKSMGEDLFWAIRGGGGENFGIIAAWKIKLVAVPSKS Synthase TIFSVKKNMEIHGLVKLFNKWQNIAYKYDKDLVLMTHFITKNITDNHGKNKT TVHGYFSSIFHGGVDSLVDLMNKSFPELGIKKTDCKEFSWIDTTIFYSGVV NFNTANFKKEILLDRSAGKKTAFSIKLDYVKKPIPETAMVKILEKLYEEDVG AGMYVLYPYGGIMEEISESAIPFPHRAGIMYELWYTASWEKQEDNEKHIN WVRSVYNFTTPYVSQNPRLAYLNYRDLDLGKTNHASPNNYTQARIWGEK YFGKNFNRLVKVKTKVDPNNFFRNEQSIPPLPPHHH* 3 Nucleotide ATGAATTGCTCAACATTCTCCTTTTGGTTTGTTTGCAAAATAATATTTTT Sequence of CTTTCTCTCATTCAATATCCAAATTTCAATAGCTAATCCTCAAGAAAACT Paralog TCCTTAAATGCTTCTCGGAATATATTCCTAACAATCCAGCAAATCCAAA “007396F” ATTCATATACACTCAACACGACCAATTGTATATGTCTGTCCTGAATTCG THCA ACAATACAAAATCTTAGATTCACCTCTGATACAACCCCAAAACCACTCG Synthase TTATTGTCACTCCTTCAAATGTCTCCCATATCCAGGCCAGTATTCTCTG CTCCAAGAAAGTTGGTTTGCAGATTCGAACTCGAAGCGGTGGCCATG ATGCTGAGGGTTTGTCCTACATATCTCAAGTCCCATTTGCTATAGTAGA CTTGAGAAACATGCATACGGTCAAAGTAGATATTCATAGCCAAACTGC GTGGGTTGAAGCCGGAGCTACCCTTGGAGAAGTTTATTATTGGATCAA TGAGATGAATGAGAATTTTAGTTTTCCTGGTGGGTATTGCCCTACTGTT GGCGTAGGTGGACACTTTAGTGGAGGAGGCTATGGAGCATTGATGCG AAATTATGGCCTTGCGGCTGATAATATCATTGATGCACACTTAGTCAAT GTTGATGGAAAAGTTCTAGATCGAAAATCCATGGGAGAAGATCTATTTT GGGCTATACGTGGTGGAGGAGGAGAAAACTTTGTAATCATTGCAGCAT GGAAAATCAAACTTGTTGTTGTCCCATCAAAGGCTACTATATTGAGTGT TAAAAAGAACATGGAGATACATGGGCTTGTCAAGTTATTTAACAAATGG CAAAATATTGCTTACAAGTATGACAAAGATTTAATGCTCACGACTCACT TCAGAACTAGGAATATTACAGATAATCATGGGAAGAATAAGACTACAG TACATGGTTACTTCTCTTCCATTTTTCTTGGTGGAGTGGATAGTCTAGT TGACTTGATGAACAAGAGCTTTCCTGAGTTGGGTATTAAAAAAACTGAT TGCAAAGAATTGAGCTGGATTGATACAACCATCTTCTACAGTGGTGTT GTAAATTACAACACTGCTAATTTTAAAAAGGAAATTTTGCTTGATAGAT CAGCTGGGAAGAAGACGGCTTTCTCAATTAAGTTAGACTATGTTAAGA AACTAATACCTGAAACTGCAATGGTCAAAATTTTGGAAAAATTATATGA AGAAGAGGTAGGAGTTGGGATGTATGTGTTGTACCCTTACGGTGGTAT AATGGATGAGATTTCAGAATCAGCAATTCCATTCCCTCATCGAGCTGG AATAATGTATGAACTTTGGTACACTGCTACCTGGGAGAAGCAAGAAGA TAACGAAAAGCATATAAACTGGGTTCGAAGTGTTTATAATTTCACAACT CCTTATGTGTCCCAAAATCCAAGATTGGCGTATCTCAATTATAGGGAC CTTGATTTAGGAAAAACTAATCCTGAGAGTCCTAATAATTACACACAAG CACGTATTTGGGGTGAAAAGTATTTTGGTAAAAATTTTAACAGGTTAGT TAAGGTGAAAACCAAAGCTGATCCCAATAATTTTTTTAGAAACGAACAA AGTATCCCACCTCTTCCACCGCGTCATCATTAA 4 Amino Acid MNCSTFSFWFVCKIIFFFLSFNIQISIANPQENFLKCFSEYIPNNPANPKFIY Sequence of TQHDQLYMSVLNSTIQNLRFTSDTTPKPLVIVTPSNVSHIQASILCSKKVGL Paralog QIRTRSGGHDAEGLSYISQVPFAIVDLRNMHTVKVDIHSQTAWVEAGATL “007396F” GEVYYWINEMNENFSFPGGYCPTVGVGGHFSGGGYGALMRNYGLAAD THCA NIIDAHLVNVDGKVLDRKSMGEDLFWAIRGGGGENFVIIAAWKIKLVVVPS Synthase KATIFSVKKNMEIHGLVKLFNKWQNIAYKYDKDLMLTTHFRTRNITDNHGK NKTTVHGYFSSIFLGGVDSLVDLMNKSFPELGIKKTDCKELSWIDTTIFYS GVVNYNTANFKKEILLDRSAGKKTAFSIKLDYVKKLIPETAMVKILEKLYEE EVGVGMYVLYPYGGIMDEISESAIPFPHRAGIMYELWYTATWEKQEDNEK HINWVRSVYNFTTPYVSQNPRLAYLNYRDLDLGKTNPESPNNYTQARIW GEKYFGKNFNRLVKVKTKADPNNFFRNEQSIPPLPPRHH* 5 Nucleotide ATGAAGTACTCAACATTCTGTTTTTGGTATGTTTGCAAGATAATATTTTT Sequence of CTTTCTCTCATTCAATATCCAAATTTCAATAGCTAATCCTCAAGAAAACT Paralog TCCTTAAATGCTTCTCACAATATATTCCCACCAATGTAACAAATGCAAA “006591F” ACTCGTATACACTCAACACGACCAATTTTATATGTCTATCCTAAATTCG CBDA ACCATACAAAATCTTAGATTTACCTCTGACACAACCCCAAAACCACTTG Synthase TTATCATCACTCCTTTAAATGTCTCCCATATCCAAGGCACTATTCTATG CTCCAAGAAAGTTGGCTTGCAGATTCGAACTCGAAGCGGTGGTCATG ATGCTGAGGGCATGTCCTACATATCTCAAGTCCCATTTGTTATAGTAGA CTTGAGAAACATGCATTCGGTCAAAATAGATGTTCATAGCCAAACTGC ATGGGTTGAAGCCGGAGCTACCCTTGGAGAAGTTTATTATTGGATCAA TGAGAACAATGAGAATCTTAGTTTTCCTGCTGGGTACTGCCCTACTGT TGGCGCGGGTGGACACTTTAGTGGAGGAGGCTATGGAGCATTGATGC GAAATTATGGCCTCGCGGCTGATAATATCATTGATGCGCACTTAGTCA ATGTTGATGGAAAAGTTTTAGATCGAAAATCCATGGGGGAAGATTTGT TTTGGGCTATACGTGGTGGTGGAGGAGAAAACTTTGGAATCATTGCAG CGTGGAAAATTAGACTTGTTGCTGTCCCATCAATGTCTACTATATTCAG TGTTAAAAAGAACATGGAGATACATGAGCTTGTCAAGTTAGTTAACAAA TGGCAAAATATTGCTTACATGTATGAAAAAGAATTATTACTCTTTACTCA CTTTATAACCAGGAATATTACAGATAATCAAGGGAAGAATAAGACAACA ATACACAGTTACTTCTCCTCCATTTTCCATGGTGGAGTGGATAGTCTAG TCGACTTGATGAACAAGAGCTTTCCTGAATTGGGTATTAAAAAAACAGA TTGCAAACAGTTGAGCTGGATTGATACTATCATCTTCTACAGTGGTCTT GTAAATTACAACACAACTAATTTTAAAAAAGAAATTTTGCTTGATAGATC AGGTGGGCGGAAGGCGGCTTTCTCGATTAAGTTAGACTATGTTAAGAA ACCGATTCCAGAAACCGCAATGGTCACAATTTTGGAAAAATTATATGAA GAAGATGTAGGAGTTGGGATGTTTGTGTTTTACCCTTATGGTGGTATA ATGGATGAGATTTCAGAATCAGCAATTCCATTCCCTCATCGAGCTGGA ATCATGTATGAAATTTGGTACATAGCTTCATGGGAGAAGCAAGAAGAT AATGAAAAGCATATAAACTGGATTCGGAATGTTTATAATTTCACGACTC CTTATGTGTCCCAAAATCCAAGAATGGCGTATCTCAATTATAGGGACC TTGATTTAGGAAAAACTAATTTCGAGACTCCTAATAATTACACACAAGC ACGTATTTGGGGTGAAAAGTATTTTGGTAAAAATTTTAATAGGTTAGTA AAAGTAAAAACCAAGGTTGATCCCGATAATTTCTTTAGAAACGAACAAA GCATCCCACCTCTTCCCCTACGTCATCATTAA 6 Amino Acid MKYSTFCFWYVCKIIFFFLSFNIQISIANPQENFLKCFSQYIPTNVTNAKLVY Sequence of TQHDQFYMSILNSTIQNLRFTSDTTPKPLVIITPLNVSHIQGTILCSKKVGLQ Paralog IRTRSGGHDAEGMSYISQVPFVIVDLRNMHSVKIDVHSQTAWVEAGATLG “006591F” EVYYWINENNENLSFPAGYCPTVGAGGHFSGGGYGALMRNYGLAADNII CBDA DAHLVNVDGKVLDRKSMGEDLFWAIRGGGGENFGIIAAWKIRLVAVPSMS Synthase TIFSVKKNMEIHELVKLVNKWQNIAYMYEKELLLFTHFITRNITDNQGKNKT TIHSYFSSIFHGGVDSLVDLMNKSFPELGIKKTDCKQLSWIDTIIFYSGLVN YNTTNFKKEILLDRSGGRKAAFSIKLDYVKKPIPETAMVTILEKLYEEDVGV GMFVFYPYGGIMDEISESAIPFPHRAGIMYEIWYIASWEKQEDNEKHINWI RNVYNFTTPYVSQNPRMAYLNYRDLDLGKTNFESPNNYTQARIWGEKYF GKNFNRLVKVKTKVDPDNFFRNEQSIPPLPLRHH* 7 Nucleotide ATGAAGTACTCAACATTCTGTTTTTGGTATGTTTGCAAGATAATATTTTT Sequence of CTTTCTCTCATTCAATATCCAAATTTCAATAGCTAATCCTCAAGAAAACT Paralog TCCTTAAATGCTTCTCACAATATATTCCCACCAATGTAACAAATGCAAA “005134F” ACTGGTATACAGTCAACACGACCAATTTTATATGTCTATCCTAAATTCG CBDA ACCATACAAAATCTTAGATTTACCTCTGAAACAACCCCAAAACCACTTG Synthase TTATCATCACTCCTTTAAATGTCTCCCATATCCAAGGCACTATTCTATG CTCCAAGAAAGTTGGCTTGCAGATTCGAACTCGAAGCGGTGGTCATG ATGCTGAGGGCATGTCCTACATATCTGAAGTCCCATTTGTTATAGTAG ACTTGAGAAACATGCATTCGGTCAAAATAGATGTTCATAGCCAAACTG CATGGGTTGAAGCCGGAGCTACCCTTGGAGAAGTTTATTATTGGATCA ATGAGAACAATGAGAATCTTAGTTTTCCTGCTGGGTACTGCCCTACTG TTGGCGCGGGTGGACACTTTAGTGGAGGAGGCTATGGAGCATTGATG CGAAATTATGGCCTCGCGGCTGATAATATCATTGATGCGCACTTAGTC AATGTTGATGGAAAAGTTTTAGATCGAAAATCCATGGGGGAAGATTTG TTTTGGGCTATACGTGGTGGTGGAGGAGAAAACTTTGGAATCATTGCA GCGTGGAAAATTAGACTTGTTGCTGTCCCATCAATGTCTACTATATTCA GTGTTAAAAAGAACATGGAGATACATGAGCTTGTCAAGTTAGTTAACAA ATGGCAAAATATTGCTTACATGTATGAAAAAGAATTATTACTCTTTACTC ACTTTATAACCAGGAATATTACAGATAATCAAGGGAAGAATAAGACAAC AATACACAGTTACTTCTCCTCCATTTTCCATGGTGGAGTGGATAGTCTA GTCGACTTGATGAACAAGAGCTTTCCTGAATTGGGTATTAAAAAAACA GATTGCAAACAGTTGAGCTGGATTGATACTATCATCTTCTACAGTGGT GTTGTAAATTACAACACAACTAATTTTAAAAAAGAAATTTTGCTTGATAG ATCAGGTGGGCGGAAGGCGGCTTTCTCGATTAAGTTAGACTATGTTAA GAAACCGATTCCAGAAACCGCAATGGTCACAATTTTGGAAAAATTATAT GAAGAAGATGTAGGAGTTGGGATGTTTGTGTTTTACCCTTATGGTGGT ATAATGGATGAGATTTCAGAATCAGCAATTCCATTCCCTCATCGAGCT GGAATCATGTATGAAATTTGGTACATAGCTTCATGGGAGAAGCAAGAA GATAATGAAAAGCATATAAACTGGATTCGGAATGTTTATAATTTCACGA CTCCTTATGTGTCCCAAAATCCAAGAATGGCGTATCTCAATTATAGGG ACCTTGATTTAGGAAAAACTAATTTCGAGAGTCCTAATAATTACACACA AGCACGTATTTGGGGTGAAAAGTATTTTGGTAAAAATTTTAATAGGTTA GTAAAAGTAAAAACCAAGGTTGATCCCGATAATTTCTTTAGAAACGAAC AAAGCATCCCACCTCTTCCCCTACGTCATCATTAA 8 Amino Acid MKYSTFCFWYVCKIIFFFLSFNIQISIANPQENFLKCFSQYIPTNVTNAKLVY Sequence of SQHDQFYMSILNSTIQNLRFTSETTPKPLVIITPLNVSHIQGTILCSKKVGLQ Paralog IRTRSGGHDAEGMSYISEVPFVIVDLRNMHSVKIDVHSQTAWVEAGATLG “005134F” EVYYWINENNENLSFPAGYCPTVGAGGHFSGGGYGALMRNYGLAADNII CBDA DAHLVNVDGKVLDRKSMGEDLFWAIRGGGGENFGIIAAWKIRLVAVPSMS Synthase TIFSVKKNMEIHELVKLVNKWQNIAYMYEKELLLFTHFITRNITDNQGKNKT TIHSYFSSIFHGGVDSLVDLMNKSFPELGIKKTDCKQLSWIDTIIFYSGVVN YNTTNFKKEILLDRSGGRKAAFSIKLDYVKKPIPETAMVTILEKLYEEDVGV GMFVFYPYGGIMDEISESAIPFPHRAGIMYEIWYIASWEKQEDNEKHINWI RNVYNFTTPYVSQNPRMAYLNYRDLDLGKTNFESPNNYTQARIWGEKYF GKNFNRLVKVKTKVDPDNFFRNEQSIPPLPLRHH* 9 Nucleotide ATGAAGTACTCAACATTCTGTTTTTGGTATGTTTGCAAGATAATATTTTT Sequence of CTTTCTCTCATTCAATATCCAAATTTCAATAGCTAATCCTCAAGAAAACT Paralog TCCTTAAATGCTTCTCACAATATATTCCCACCAATGTAACAAATGCAAA “004341F” ACTCGTATACACTCAACACGACCAATTTTATATGTCTATCCTAAATTCG CBDA ACCATACAAAATCTTAGATTTACCTCTGACACAACCCCAAAACCACTTG Synthase TTATCATCACTCCTTTAAATGTCTCCCATATCCAAGGCACTATTCTATG CTCCAAGAAAGTTGGCTTGCAGATTCGAACTCGAAGCGGTGGTCATG ATGCTGAGGGCATGTCCTACATATCTCAAGTCCCATTTGTTATAGTAGA CTTGAGAAACATGCATTCGGTCAAAATAGATGTTCATAGCCAAACTGC ATGGGTTGAAGCCGGAGCTACCCTTGGAGAAGTTTATTATTGGATCAA TGAGAACAATGAGAATCTTAGTTTTCCTGCTGGGTACTGCCCTACTGT TGGCGCGGGTGGACACTTTAGTGGAGGAGGCTATGGAGCATTGATGC GAAATTATGGCCTCGCGGCTGATAATATCATTGATGCGCACTTAGTCA ATGTTGATGGAAAAGTTTTAGATCGAAAATCCATGGGGGAAGATTTGT TTTGGGCTATACGTGGTGGTGGAGGAGAAAACTTTGGAATCATTGCAG CGTGGAAAATTAGACTTGTTGCTGTCCCATCAATGTCTACTATATTCAG TGTTAAAAAGAACATGGAGATACATGAGCTTGTCAAGTTAGTTAACAAA TGGCAAAATATTGCTTACATGTATGAAAAAGAATTATTACTCTTTACTCA CTTTATAACCAGGAATATTACAGATAATCAAGGGAAGAATAAGACAACA ATACACAGTTACTTCTCCTCCATTTTCCATGGTGGAGTGGATAGTCTAG TCGACTTGATGAACAAGAGCTTTCCTGAATTGGGTATTAAAAAAACAGA TTGCAAACAGTTGAGCTGGATTGATACTATCATCTTCTACAGTGGTCTT GTAAATTACAACACTACTAATTTTAAAAAAGAAATTTTGCTTGATAGATC AGGTGGGCGGAAGGCGGCTTTCTCGATTAAGTTAGACTATGTTAAGAA ACCGATTCCAGAAACCGCAATGGTCACAATTTTGGAAAAATTATATGAA GAAGATGTAGGAGTTCGGATGTTTGTGTTTTACCCTTATGGTGGTATA ATGGATGAGATTTCAGAATCAGCAATTCCATTCCCTCATCGAGCTGGA ATCATGTATGAAATTTGGTACATAGCTTCATGGGAGAAGCAAGAAGAT AATGAAAAGCATATAAACTGGATTCGGAATGTTTATAATTTCACGACTC CTTATGTGTCCCAAAATCCAAGAATGGCGTATCTCAATTATAGGGACC TTGATTTAGGAAAAACTAATTTCGAGAGTCCTAATAATTACACACAAGC ACGTATTTGGGGTGAAAAGTATTTTGGTAAAAATTTTAATAGGTTAGTA AAAGTAAAAACCAAGGTTGATCCCGATAATTTCTTTAGAAACGAACAAA GCATCCCACCTCTTCCCCTGCGTCATCATTAA 10 Amino Acid MKYSTFCFWYVCKIIFFFLSFNIQISIANPQENFLKCFSQYIPTNVTNAKLVY Sequence of TQHDQFYMSILNSTIQNLRFTSDTTPKPLVIITPLNVSHIQGTILCSKKVGLQ Paralog IRTRSGGHDAEGMSYISQVPFVIVDLRNMHSVKIDVHSQTAWVEAGATLG “004341F” EVYYWINENNENLSFPAGYCPTVGAGGHFSGGGYGALMRNYGLAADNII CBDA DAHLVNVDGKVLDRKSMGEDLFWAIRGGGGENFGIIAAWKIRLVAVPSMS Synthase TIFSVKKNMEIHELVKLVNKWQNIAYMYEKELLLFTHFITRNITDNQGKNKT TIHSYFSSIFHGGVDSLVDLMNKSFPELGIKKTDCKQLSWIDTIIFYSGLVN YNTTNFKKEILLDRSGGRKAAFSIKLDYVKKPIPETAMVTILEKLYEEDVGV GMFVFYPYGGIMDEISESAIPFPHRAGIMYEIWYIASWEKQEDNEKHINWI RNVYNFTTPYVSQNPRMAYLNYRDLDLGKTNFESPNNYTQARIWGEKYF GKNFNRLVKVKTKVDPDNFFRNEQSIPPLPLRHH* 11 Nucleotide ATGAATTGCTCAACATTCTCCTTTTGGTTTGTTTGCAAAATAATATTTTT Sequence of CTTTCTCTCATTCAATATCCAAATTTCAATAGCTAATCCTCAAGAAAACT Paralog TCCTTAAATGCTTCTCGGAATATATTCCTAACAATCCAGCAAATCCAAA “006705F” ATTCATATACACTCAACACGACCAATTGTATATGTCTGTCCTGAATTCG THCA ACAATACAAAATCTTAGATTCACCTCTGATACAACCCCAAAACCACTCG Synthase TTATTGTCACTCCTTCAAATGTCTCCCATATCCAGGCCAGTATTCTCTG CTCCAAGAAAGTTGGTTTGCAGATTCGAACTCGAAGCGGTGGCCATG ATGCTGAGGGTTTGTCCTACATATCTCAAGTCCCATTTGCTATAGTAGA CTTGAGAAACATGCATACGGTCAAAGTAGATATTCATAGCCAAACTGC GTGGGTTGAAGCCGGAGCTACCCTTGGAGAAGTTTATTATTGGATCAA TGAGATGAATGAGAATTTTAGTTTTCCTGGTGGGTATTGCCCTACTGTT GGCGTAGGTGGACACTTTAGTGGAGGAGGCTATGGAGCATTGATGCG AAATTATGGCCTTGCGGCTGATAATATCATTGATGCACACTTAGTCAAT GTTGATGGAAAAGTTCTAGATCGAAAATCCATGGGAGAAGATCTATTTT GGGCTATACGTGGTGGAGGAGGAGAAAACTTTGGAATCATTGCAGCA TGGAAAATCAAACTTGTTGTTGTCCCATGAAAGGCTACTATATTCAGTG TTAAAAAGAACATGGAGATACATGGGCTTGTCAAGTTATTTAACAAATG GCAAAATATTGCTTACAAGTATGACAAAGATTTAATGCTCACGACTCAC TTCAGAACTAGGAATATTACAGATAATCATGGGAAGAATAAGACTACA GTACATGGTTACTTCTCTTCCATTTTTCTTGGTGGAGTGGATAGTCTAG TTGACTTGATGAACAAGAGCTTTCCTGAGTTGGGTATTAAAAAAACTGA TTGCAAAGAATTGAGCTGGATTGATACAACCATCTTCTACAGTGGTGTT GTAAATTACAACACTGCTAATTTTAAAAAGGAAATTTTGCTTGATAGAT CAGCTGGGAAGAAGACGGCTTTCTCAATTAAGTTAGACTATGTTAAGA AACTAATACCTGAAACTGCAATGGTCAAAATTTTGGAAAAATTATATGA AGAAGAGGTAGGAGTTGGGATGTATGTGTTGTACCCTTACGGTGGTAT AATGGATGAGATTTCAGAATCAGCAATTCCATTCCCTCATCGAGCTGG AATAATGTATGAACTTTGGTACACTGCTACCTGGGAGAAGCAAGAAGA TAACGAAAAGCATATAAACTGGGTTCGAAGTGTTTATAATTTCACAACT CCTTATGTGTCCCAAAATCCAAGATTGGCGTATCTCAATTATAGGGAC CTTGATTTAGGAAAAACTAATCCTGAGAGTCCTAATAATTACACACAAG CACGTATTTGGGGTGAAAAGTATTTTGGTAAAAATTTTAACAGGTTAGT TAAGGTGAAAACCAAAGCTGATCCCAATAATTTTTTTAGAAACGAACAA AGTATCCCACCTCTTCCACCGCGTCATCATTAA 12 Amino Acid MNCSTFSFWFVCKIIFFFLSFNIQISIANPQENFLKCFSEYIPNNPANPKFIY Sequence of TQHDQLYMSVLNSTIQNLRFTSDTTPKPLVIVTPSNVSHIQASILCSKKVGL Paralog QIRTRSGGHDAEGLSYISQVPFAIVDLRNMHTVKVDIHSQTAWVEAGATL “006705F” GEVYYWINEMNENFSFPGGYCPTVGVGGHFSGGGYGALMRNYGLAAD THCA NIIDAHLVNVDGKVLDRKSMGEDLFWAIRGGGGENFGIIAAWKIKLVVVPS Synthase KATIFSVKKNMEIHGLVKLFNKWQNIAYKYDKDLMLTTHFRTRNITDNHGK NKTTVHGYFSSIFLGGVDSLVDLMNKSFPELGIKKTDCKELSWIDTTIFYS GVVNYNTANFKKEILLDRSAGKKTAFSIKLDYVKKLIPETAMVKILEKLYEE EVGVGMYVLYPYGGIMDEISESAIPFPHRAGIMYELWYTATWEKQEDNEK HINWVRSVYNFTTPYVSQNPRLAYLNYRDLDLGKTNPESPNNYTQARIW GEKYFGKNFNRLVKVKTKADPNNFFRNEQSIPPLPPRHH* 13 c395 Forward TCACCTCTAACACAACCCCAAAA PCR Primer 14 c395 CCAAAAGAGATCTTCCCCCATA Reverse PCR Primer 15 c8242 GCGTTGTACCCTTACGGTTG Forward PCR Primer 16 c8242 TTTTGACTCTTGGGATCATTTATTC Reverse PCR Primer

The present invention relates to compositions and methods for providing desired cannabinoid production in plants. More particularly, the invention relates to compositions and methods for using genetic analysis for breeding cannabis plants, including but not limited to cultivars, varieties, lines, and methods of breeding the same for commercial use, the breeding methods further involving identifying and using genetic markers for cannabinoid compound production traits.

Advantages of growing and using a cannabis plant that produces a known or desired cannabinoid or combination of cannabinoids includes consistent and predictable therapeutic effect resulting from ingestion of the plant materials. The potential market is substantial because of the recent understanding of medicinal effects of certain cannabinoids and cannabinoid combinations.

The inventors have analyzed the cannabinoid synthase genes from the gene structure of many cannabis plant varieties and compared to computationally folded enzyme structure to better understand the complex mechanism of cannabinoid production. With a better understanding of the mechanism controlling this secondary metabolite production, more accurate breeding of cannabis plant varieties may be conducted for species specific for cannabinoid synthase genes of interest, which control the upstream processes compared to the conversion of CBGA to THCA/CBDA.

Cannabis, an angiosperm from the family cannabacea that has been cultivated for thousands of years for multiple purposes, particularly due to the production of secondary metabolites known as cannabinoids. Hundreds of varieties of cannabis have been bred and identified, most of which differ in the content of the two most well-known cannabinoids; delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinolic acid (THCA) and Cannabidolic acid (CBDA) in the plant.

The methods of the present invention are not limited to the use of any particular plant. Indeed, a variety of plants are contemplated for introducing CBDA and/or THCA content.

The present invention relates to compositions and methods for identifying and providing CBDA and/or THCA content in a plant. More particularly, the invention relates to compositions and methods for using cannabinoid synthase paralogs for breeding cannabis plants that produce a desired amount or ratio of cannabinoid(s), including but not limited to cultivars, varieties, lines and methods of breeding the same for commercial use, the breeding methods further involving identifying and using genetic markers for specific cannabinoid synthase paralogs.

Specifically, this invention discloses novel PCR primers/probes that identify specific cannabinoid synthase paralogs related to CBDA production in cannabis plants.

In experiments conducted during the course of the present invention, sources and types of CBDA and THCA production were identified.

To develop the desired cannabis cultivars, sources of germplasm comprising cannabis synthase paralogs must be identified. In experiments conducted during the course of the present invention, the relationship between the occurrence of cannabinoid synthase paralog type and copy number with cannabinoid content in many known cannabis varieties were established.

The present invention contemplates providing lines of specifically bred cannabis plants by crossbreeding cannabis cultivars that have been identified by the presence or copy number of specific cannabinoid synthase paralogs using the PCR primers/probes of this disclosure.

The present invention contemplates the use of transgenic plants comprising a heterologous transgene encoding a cannabinoid synthase paralog identified using the PCR primers/probes of this disclosure.

Another aspect of the present invention is to provide high content CBDA producing cannabis plants by crossbreeding cannabis cultivars having specific cannabinoid synthase paralogs identified using the PCR primers/probes of this disclosure.

Another aspect of the present invention is to provide low content CBDA producing cannabis plants by crossbreeding cannabis cultivars having specific cannabinoid synthase paralogs identified using the PCR primers/probes of this disclosure.

Another aspect of the invention relates to the cloning and expression of the cannabinoid synthase enzymes encoded by the paralogs identified in this disclosure, that play a role in the biosynthesis of cannabinoids. This aspect may also include the use of a eukaryotic expression system for the manufacture of cannabinoids and cannabinoid analogs using these recombinant synthase enzymes.

In these aspects, the cannabinoid synthase enzymes may be encoded by the cannabinoid synthase paralogs of this disclosure, including specifically the THCA synthases designated “001774F” (SEQ ID NO:1); “007396F” (SEQ ID NO:3); and “006705F” (SEQ ID NO: 1) and the CBDA synthases designated “006591 F” (SEQ ID NO:5); “005134F” (SEQ ID NO:7); “004341 F” (SEQ ID NO:9). These synthase enzymes may be used in the production of recombinant cannabinoid synthase enzymes, and/or the production of synthetic cannabinoid compounds.

Exemplary eukaryotic cells suitable for cloning and expression of the cannabinoid synthase enzymes include, without limitation, E coli, yeast and baculovirus hosts. An embodiment of this technology is a method for the large-scale production of several cannabinoid synthase enzymes including tetrahydrocannabinolic acid synthase (THCA synthase) and cannabidiolic acid synthase (CBDA synthase) using a Pichia yeast expression system. Accordingly, the production of these recombinant enzymes can be carried out by transforming yeast with a DNA construct that comprises a gene encoding one or more of the cannabinoid synthase paralogs identified in this disclosure for THCA synthase or CBDA synthase, and culturing the transformed yeast cells under conditions suitable for promoting the expression of a functionally active enzyme. The recombinant enzyme may then be recovered from the transformed cells gown in culture by lysing and isolating the recombinant synthase enzymes, or from the fermentation media where those recombinantly produced synthase enzymes are secreted into the growth media.

A related aspect of the present invention provides methods and systems for producing cannabinoids or cannabinoid analogs. Such methods may include the use of a fermentor holding a medium and a plurality of cells, wherein the cells are recombinantly modified to express a cannabinoid synthase enzyme and produce the desired cannabinoids in vitro. The cannabinoid compounds may then be recovered from the recombinant organisms or from the growth media.

Thus, the polynucleotides encoding the cannabinoid synthase paralogs of this disclosure may be used in methods of plant breeding, mutagenesis or genetic engineering, as well as methods for making recombinant cells, and recombinant organisms such as recombinant plants such as cannabis plants with enhanced THCA and/or CBDA synthase activity, and/or enhanced THCA and/or CBDA content, as well as cell free systems. Such systems and methods are known and described in detail in PCT patent application No. PCT/CA2015/000423, filed 29 Jun. 2015, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, and in U.S. Pat. No. 9,359,625, issued 7 Jun. 2016, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Furthermore, methods of inactivating or silencing the cannabinoid synthase paralogs of this disclosure in a cannabis cell and/or plant are contemplated, for example, to block and/or reduce cannabinoid biosynthesis and the cannabinoid content of a cannabis cell or plant Such methods may be used, for example, to block or reduce the production of THCA THCA and/or CBDA, and/or to increase the production of CBGA.

Thus, an embodiment of this disclosure provides a nucleic acid molecule comprising a nucleotide sequence having at least about 95% sequence identity to cannabinoid synthase paralogs of this disclosure, including specifically the THCA synthases designated “001774F” (SEQ ID NO:1); “007396F” (SEQ ID NO:3); and “006705F” (SEQ ID NO:11), and the CBDA synthases designated “006591F” (SEQ ID NO:5); “005134F” (SEQ ID NO:7); and “004341F” (SEQ ID NO:9), or the complement thereof, that encodes a polypeptide having cannabinoid synthase activity; operably linked to a heterologous nucleic acid sequence suitable for expression in a cell or organism. In these embodiments, the encoded polypeptide may demonstrate THCA synthase enzymatic activity or CBDA synthase enzymatic activity.

It will be appreciated that this disclosure embraces the degeneracy of codon usage as would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art and as illustrated in the Table of Codon Degeneracies.

Table of Codon Degeneracies Amino Acid Codons Ala/A GCT, GCC, GCA, COG Arg/R CGT, CCC, CGA, CGG, AGA, AGG Asn/N AAT, AAC Asp/D GAT, GAC Cys/C TGT, TGC Gln/Q CAA, CAG Glu/E GAA, GAG Gly/G GGT, GGC, GGA, GGG His/H CAT, CAC Ile/I ATT, ATC, ATA Leu/L TTA, TTG, CTT, CTC, CTA, CTG Lys/K AAA, AAG Met/M ATG Phe/F TTT, TTC Pro/P CCT, CCC, CCA, CCG Ser/S TCT, TCC, TCA, TCG, ACT, AGC Thr/T ACT, ACC, ACA, ACG Trp/W TGG Tyr/Y TAT, TAC Val/V GTT, CTC, GTA, CTC START ATG STOP TAG, TGA, TAA

Furthermore, it will be understood by one skilled in the art that conservative substitutions may be made in the amino acid sequence of a polypeptide without disrupting the structure or function of the polypeptide. Conservative amino acid substitutions are accomplished by the skilled artisan by substituting amino acids with similar hydrophobicity, polarity, and R-chain length for one another. Additionally, by comparing aligned sequences of homologous proteins from different species, conservative amino acid substitutions may be identified by locating amino acid residues that have been mutated between species without altering the basic functions of the encoded proteins. The following table provides an exemplary list of conservative substitutions.

Table of Conservative Substitutions Type of Amino Acid Substitutable Amino Acids Hydrophilic: Ala, Pro, Gly, Glu, Asp, Gln, Asn, Ser, Thr Sulphydryl: Cys Aliphatic: Val, Ile, Leu, Met Basic: Lys, Arg, His Aromatic: Phe, Tyr, Trp

A related aspect of this disclosure therefore includes a cell or organism comprising a nucleic acid comprising a nucleotide sequence having at least about 95% sequence identity to cannabinoid synthase paralogs of this disclosure, including specifically the THCA synthases designated “001774F” (SEQ ID NO:1); “007396F” (SEQ ID NO:3); and “006705F” (SEQ ID NO:11), and the CBDA synthases designated “006591F” (SEQ ID NO:5); “005134F” (SEQ ID NO:7); and “004341F” (SEQ ID NO:9), or the complement thereof, that encodes a polypeptide having cannabinoid synthase activity; operably linked to a heterologous nucleic acid sequence suitable for expression in the cell or organism, such that the cell or organism expresses a recombinant cannabinoid synthase. In these embodiments, the expressed polypeptide may demonstrate THCA synthase enzymatic activity or CBDA synthase enzymatic activity.

In a related aspect, this disclosure includes a culture supernatant of a recombinant organism culture, for example a recombinant yeast cell culture wherein the recombinantly produced cannabinoid synthase and/or cannabinoid is secreted into the culture supernatant.

In a related aspect, this disclosure includes an expression vector that may be used to transfer a nucleic acid encoding a cannabinoid synthase paralog of this disclosure into a host cell. Such expression vectors may include cosmids, plasmids, or modified viruses (e.g. replication defective retroviruses, adenoviruses and adeno-associated viruses), so long as the vector is compatible with the host cell used. The expression vectors are suitable for transformation of a host cell if they contain a nucleic acid molecule of this disclosure and regulatory sequences selected on the basis of the host cells to be used for expression, which is/are operatively linked to the nucleic acid molecule encoding the cannabinoid synthase, to allows expression of the nucleic acid. These vectors may be used to create transgenic or recombinant organisms or recombinant cells (e.g. optionally cells of recombinant organisms) that produce recombinant cannabinoid synthases with THCA or CBDA synthase enzymatic activity. Preferably, the recombinant organism is a recombinant plant, recombinant multicellular microorganism or recombinant insect. Plants are preferably of the genus Cannabis, for example Cannabis sativa L, Cannabis indica Lam. and Cannabis ruderalis Janisch, especially Cannabis sativa. Microorganisms are preferably bacteria (e.g. Escherichia coli) or yeast (e.g. Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Pichia pastoris).

In all of these aspects, the nucleotide sequence encoding the cannabinoid synthase paralogs of this disclosure may be codon optimized for expression in the cell or organism used in the recombinant production of the synthase enzyme and/or cannabinoid(s).

The following Examples are illustrative and should not be interpreted in any way to limit the scope of the invention.

EXAMPLES

High-throughput screening methods have been developed for botanical applications to assist breeders select for traits, such as the chemical biosynthesis and other phenotypic traits in numerous plant industries. The marker system developed by the inventors and disclosed herein is specific to the Cannabis genus and allows one to identify and screen for potential drug-producing cultivars. The inventors have identified informative regions of the cannabinoid synthase gene family and informative SNPs within those regions that have been targeted by novel markers, c395 and c8242. Furthermore, they discovered other secondary markers in the genome that correlate to bioaccumulation of THCA or CBDA, that can be incorporated with other paralog markers to create a chemically informative barcode or fingerprint for each strain that can help to better classify and name Cannabis.

INTRODUCTION

Cannabis, an angiosperm of the family cannabacea (Soltis et al. 2005; Bell et al. 2010), has been cultivated for thousands of years for multiple purposes, especially its distinct production of pharmacologically-active secondary metabolites known as cannabinoids (Russo 2007). Cannabis cultivation is now a multibillion-dollar industry that primarily targets the two most well-known cannabinoids; delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinolic acid (THCA) and Cannabidolic acid (CBDA). THCA is most commonly associated with psychoactive effects (Russo and McParland 2003; EISholy and Slade 2005; Radwan et al. 2008). CBDA has gained recent popularity for its proposed non-psychoactive medicinal uses and less restricted use in the United States (Russo 2011; Swift et al. 2013).

THCA and CBDA are the final products of a three-step biochemical pathway and are produced in the last step by the enzymes THCA and CBDA synthase (THCAS and CBDAS) respectively (Gagne et al. 2012; Page and Boubakir 2014; Vergara et al. in prep). A third compound, Cannabichromenic acid (CBCA) is also a final product in this pathway produced by CBCA synthase. The precursor molecule acted on by the three cannabinoid synthases, Cannabigerolic acid (CBGA), (Page and Boubakir 2014; Vergara et al. in prep), is found in low quantities in both the US (Vergara et al. 2017) and worldwide (Swift et al. 2013).

Duplication and deletion of genomic regions may result in gene copy number (CN) variation or paralogs, which has been shown to be common in plant genes related to stress or disease resistance (Delledonne et al. 1998; Gaines et al. 2010; Żmieńko et al. 2014). It has been proposed that the ecological function of cannabinoids is to protect the plant from external stressors (ie. UV light, herbivory, & pathogens) (Langenheim 1994; McPartland et al. 2000; Sirikantaramas et al. 2005), and the genes coding for these cannabinoid synthases are found in multiple, divergent paralogs (Onofri et al. 2015) that vary in CN and alleles between and within lineages (Vergara in prep.). An example of a particularly significant such variation is the preeminence of functionally-compromised CBDAS alleles among high-THCA cultivars (Vergara et al in prep; Onofri et al. 2015).

Complex traits such as cannabinoid content often consist of multiple loci that make it difficult to determine their location or copy number. Due to their sequence similarity determining their sequence is problematic (Vergara et al in prep). Therefore, we developed specific primers that amplify unique regions within the paralogs directly responsible for the production of cannabinoids. Additionally, we established the SNPs with the largest effect size in the amplified regions of the three paralogs and other possible SNPs throughout the whole genome that could influence cannabinoid bioaccumulation.

The following methods were used to conduct the experiments and analysis described in Examples 1-3, below:

Genomic Assembly:

The genomic assembly used to identify cannabinoid paralogs belonged to a Y-chromosome-bearing dioecious plant the high-THCA marijuana cultivar, Pineapple-Banana-Bubba-Kush (PBBK), to generate a de novo assembly (Genbank: GCA_002090435.1) using Pacific Biosciences (PacBio) RSII SMrT-LR sequencing and -HGap2 (v. January 2015) (Chin et. al., 2013) software, yielding 18,355 contigs with 72× coverage. This individual plant harbors at least 11 putative synthase paralogs, one with near-identity to the archetype THCAS and two to the archetype CBDAS but the latter both having truncated genes related to synthase. We identified an additional 20 loci encoding putative FAD-dependent, berberine-bridge-forming enzymes of the family to which all known cannabinoid synthases belong.

Plant Material & Chemical Profiling:

Extracted DNA from 31 Cannabis cultivars used for the analyses was donated to Kane Lab at the University of Colorado Boulder for genomic studies. The genomic DNA was extracted with Qiagen DNA Easy protocol per the manufacturer's instructions. Chemical profiling for each strain was performed by Steep Hill Laboratories (Berkley, Calif.). Dried mature female flower material was prepared and assayed for cannabinoids using HPLC-UV detection as described in (Vergara et al., 2017) with Shimadzu LC equipment. For each archetypal classification of Cannabis, we had a least one cultivar to represent the follow types: Type 1 (THCA dominant), Type 2 (Mixed ratio).

Primer Set Development for Synthase Paralogs:

The primer sets we developed (c395 and c8242) target two paralogs of suite of cannabinoid synthases that are associated with production of CBDA. These two paralogs are truncated in the high THCA-producing PBBK plant, but may be functional in high CBDA-producing cultivars. Due to the high-level of sequence similarity in this gene family, it was difficult to make specific primers that would target only a single paralog. However, we were able to design two primer sets that amplified the paralogs in scaffolds 000395F (MXDB010000395.1) and 008242F (MXDB010008229.1) in the PacBio assembly with the primer sets c395 and c8242, respectively. We used Primer3 software to design stable primers in non-conserved areas between the paralogs but within the coding region of the single-exon synthase paralogs (Untergrasser, 2012). The c395 primer set:

F: (SEQ ID NO: 13) 5′ TCACCTCTAACACAACCCCAAAA 3′ R: (SEQ ID NO: 14) 5′ CCAAAAGAGATCTTCCCCCATA 3′ amplified a specific 465 nt region of paralog 000395F in 15 unique cultivars using PCR program 1 (see Thermocycler Programs Table). However, the c395 reverse primer is non-specific due to the presence of a second binding site within the genome. The c8242 primer set:

F: (SEQ ID NO: 15) 5′ GCGTTGTACCCTTACGGTTG 3′, R: (SEQ ID NO: 16) 5′ TTTTGACTCTTGGGATCATTTATTC 3′ amplified a 251 nt region of the 008242F paralog in 20 Cannabis cultivars using PCR program 2. Thus, the c395 primer set amplifies both THCAS and CBDAS, while the c8242 primer set only amplifies CBDAS. We also used the previously-identified primer set (d589) that amplifies a 589 nt region within the archetypal THCA synthase gene (Staginnus et al., 2014), found in the PBBK assembly in scaffold 001774F (MXDB010001769.1) (SEQ ID NO:1). Using this primer set we amplified all 32 cultivars using program 1. These PCRs followed the standard protocol for Phusion® High-Fidelity PCR kit (New England Biosciences, Ipswich, Mass.), with the exception of using GC buffer instead of the standard HF buffer and the modified thermocycler programs in the following Table.

Thermocycler Programs Table: The thermocycler programs that we created for each of the primers we developed and used. Program 1 shows the program for both the c395, and d589 primer set PCRs. Program 2 describes the program we developed for the c8242 primer set PCR.

Program 1 Program 2 Initial Denaturation 96° C. for 2 min 98° C. for 3 min Start Cycles: 35 cycles 30 cycles Denaturation 94° C. for 20 sec 98° C. for 10 sec Annealing 62° C. for 30 sec 63° C. for 30 sec Elongation 72° C. for 1 min 30 sec 72° C. for 12 sec Final Elongation 72° C. for 5 min 72° C. for 10 min

The amplicons were trimmed in MEGA to remove low quality sequence ends so that each cultivar would have an equal sequence length. Due to low quality ends from Sanger Sequencing, the trimmed amplicons were 353 nt for samples amplified by primer set c395, 243 nt for samples amplified by primer set c8242, and 477 nt for samples amplified by primer set d589.

Neighbor-Joining (NJ) Tree Construction:

Since paralogs 000395F and 008242F are shown to be most related to the production of CBDA, we used the THCAS-like synthase (001769F) and the other known THCA synthases (Accession #: E33090) as outgroups when constructing the CBDA NJ trees. Conversely, because the c589 amplicon was shown to be most related to THCA production, we used the CBDA synthase paralogs 000395F, 000745F (MXDB010000745.1), and 008229F from the PBBK assembly and the other known CBDA synthase (Accession #: AB292682.1) as outgroups. The c395, c8242, and d589 amplicons were trimmed in MEGA to remove low quality sequence ends so that each cultivar would have an equal sequence length. Due to low quality ends from Sanger Sequencing, the trimmed amplicons were 353 nt for samples amplified by primer set c395; 243 nt for samples amplified by primer set c8242; and 477 nt for samples amplified by primer set d589. We constructed four NJ trees using CLC Sequence Viewer v. 8.0 (CITE). Each of these amplicons represents a different coding region of the synthase gene, each potentially distinct regarding selective pressures and thus yielding equally distinct monothetic phylogenies for a given cultivar or even paralog. We used blastn to identify berberine-bridge containing enzymes that were similar to cannabinoid synthases, which allowed us to compare all the cannabinoid-synthase-like genes in the PBBK assembly to the archetypal synthases to identify clades.

Genotype-Phenotype Correlation Using TASSEL:

A. Primer-Set-Specific Amplicons

We used TASSEL 5.0 (Bradbury, 2007) to seek correlations between the SNPs and the cannabinoid concentrations to understand whether SNPs found in these amplicons are correlated with cannabinoid content. We averaged the cannabinoid content by variety to compare genomic sequence to the phenotype. We corrected for relatedness between the varieties using the information from Lynch et al. 2016 for the c395, c8242, and d589 primers. This analysis was restricted to cultivars for which all three of the following were available: chemotypic data, relatedness, and Sanger-sequenced synthase amplicons. Consequently, there were 11 cultivars used for the c395 primer set, 13 cultivars for the c8242 primer set, 13 cultivars for the d589 primer set. When aligned to the published archetype THCAS gene (Genbank: E33090) (Masayama, 2000), high homology regions included bases 996-1345 for c395, bases 1238-1480 for c8242, and bases 288-764 for d589. We then performed a Mixed Linear Model (MLM) analysis using stringent TASSEL settings (re-estimate after each marker, and no compression) with a p-value filter of 1×10 3 to identify SNPs in the amplicons that are correlated to cannabinoid content.

B. Whole Genome Shotgun Analysis

To identify and investigate other polymorphic regions of the genome affecting cannabinoid bioaccumulation, we used the published distance matrix (Lynch et al., 2016), a published SNP table (Lynch et al., 2016) and the averaged chemotypes from Steep Hill (see Table of Cultivars selected for TASSEL Analysis), to perform a MLM analysis using TASSEL 5.0.

Table of Cultivars selected for TASSEL Analysis. Only samples that were included in Lynch et al.'s distance matrix, had chemotaxic data available, and that had successfully amplified were included in the downstream analysis. In total 30 different cultivars were included in this analysis, the c395 primer amplified 14 cultivars, c8242 amplified 18 cultivars, and d589 amplified 26 cultivars. The number 1 represents that that strain was included in the analysis for that primer; whereas, a 0 represents that the strain was not included in the analysis.

c395 c8242 d589 707 Headband 1 1 1 ACDC 1 1 1 AK47 0 1 0 Biodiesel 0 0 1 Blue Dream 1 1 1 C1 0 0 1 C14 0 0 1 C16 0 0 1 C2 0 0 1 C3 0 0 1 C6 0 0 1 Chem D 1 1 1 Chem D X Mass X NLS 1 1 0 Durban Poison 1 1 1 Girl Scout Cookies 0 1 1 Golden Goat 1 1 1 Gumbo 0 1 1 Harlequin 1 1 1 K19 0 0 1 K2 0 0 1 K3 0 0 1 K9 0 0 1 Kunduz 1 1 1 LA OG 1 1 1 OG18 1 1 1 Otto #2 1 0 1 Petrolia 0 1 0 Pre 93 Bubba Kush 1 1 1 Super Lemon Haze 1 1 1 Wnite Widow 0 1 0

The most significant SNPs were selected (36 SNPs, a s 1E-5 and effect size ≥23 or effect size ≤−23) and those scaffolds were analyzed for protein coding regions. Even though these SNPs were chosen due to their high significance, all SNPs found were significant since any confounding factors should have been eliminated with the genetic relatedness correction. Subsequently, we chose ORFs greater than 50 amino acids that were within 5,000 base pairs of the SNP to identify secondary marker proteins that were correlated to changes in cannabinoid content.

We identified thirteen SNPs that correlated with THCA levels and twenty-three SNPs that correlated with CDBA levels. Using BLAST's ORFFrinder Tool (Wheeler, 2003) and BLASTx (NCBI), we compared these ORFs to the most similar known proteins to find secondary marker proteins.

Example 1 Neighbor-Joining (NJ) Tree Construction

The NJ trees constructed from the amplicon sequences are markedly primer-set-dependent. The amplicons from the high CBDA producing cultivars such as Otto and Harlequin do not duster together using primer set c395 or c8242 (FIG. 1A). The amplicons from the four CBDA-related paralogs (000395F, 000745F, and 008242F from the PKB assembly, and AB292682.1) do not cluster together using primer set c395, but the 000745F and 008242F paralogs do group together with the c8242 primer set (FIGS. 1A and 1B). The amplicons from primer c8242 do not show any relationship between chemically similar cultivars (FIG. 1B). The tree constructed with the amplicons from primer c589 shows the clear phylogeny between cultivars since it dusters the known CBDAS together, although not all of the high CBD or high THC-producing cultivars cluster together (FIG. 1C). The final tree showed the phylogenetic relationship between all of the cannabinoid synthase-like genes identified in the PBBK assembly with the canonical THCA, CBDA, and CBCA synthases included for clade identification.

Example 2 Genotype-Phenotype Correlation Using TASSEL

A. Primer Amplicon Variation:

Using TASSEL's Mixed Linear Model (MLM) analysis, we identified 118 SNPs putatively related to cannabinoid ratios in the c395 amplicons, 57 in the c8242 amplicons, and 110 in the d589 amplicons.

Table of Chemical Profiles for Cultivars Used in Analyses: Average chemotypes of cultivars used for Tassel: These were the varieties that were included in the distance matrix and had been tested with our primers. The chemotype dataset was given by SteepHill Laboratories, which was filtered for the strains we used and then averaged based on strain name.

THC % CBD % CBG % CBN % CBC % Afghan Kush #1 18.076 0.033 1.967 0.000 0.000 Afghan Kush #2 15.328 0.008 3.182 0.000 0.000 Afghan Kush #3 7.343 0.000 0847 0.000 0.000 Alaskan Thunderfuck 6.706 0.045 0.484 0.012 0.084 Blue Dream 17.502 0.090 0.236 0.034 0.070 Cannatonic 4.397 11.063 0.466 0.021 0.140 Carmagnola 1.008 6.141 1.734 0.000 0.000 Chocolope 13.369 0.059 0.331 0.019 0.069 Durban Poison 16.226 0.066 0.694 0.018 0.048 Girl Scout Cookies 18.025 0.074 0.767 0.037 0.118 Golden Goat 14.862 0.023 0.474 0.013 0.002 Grape Ape 15.815 0.049 0.321 0.022 0.081 Green Crack 16.384 0.423 1.073 0.020 0.148 Harlequin 5.061 8.528 0.399 0.014 0.120 Hindu Kush 14.915 0.113 0.276 0.034 0.059 Jack Herer 16.680 0.447 0.897 0.017 0.037 Kandy Kush 16.028 0.060 0.427 0.015 0.072 Maui Waui 15.819 0.084 0.343 0.011 0.033 OG Kush 17.273 0.068 0.563 0.034 0.087 Pre-98 Bubba Kush 14.050 2.195 0.485 0.020 0.046 Purple Kush 16.069 0.070 0.399 0.021 0.081 Super Lemon Haze 15.325 0.061 1.005 0.049 0.064

Because the chemotaxic data contained other cannabinoids for some cultivars (as shown in the Table of Chemical Profiles for Cultivars Used in Analyses), we sorted the data to show the SNP sites that had the largest effect size correlated to THC and CBD concentration, because those cannabinoids were the focus of this study.

The effect size, shown in FIGS. 2A-2E, represents the variance in cannabinoid percentages between samples with distinct synthase-coding-sequence polymorphisms. The cultivars Durban Poison and Chemdawg contain polypeptide-truncating stop codons within the segment amplified with primer c395 (FIGS. 3A-3C), suggesting that the 0395.1 paralog was truncated in these cultivars.

B. Variation Throughout the Genome

Seeking other regions in the genome that may affect cannabinoid bioaccumulation, we used whole genome shotgun (WGS) data from 22 individuals to identify SNPs related to cannabinoid content using a MLM analysis method in TASSEL 5.0. We filtered the sites for a p-value ≥1E-5 and then sorted by the largest effect size. We kept sites with an effect size ≥23 or ≤−23 to identify the most significant sites out of the approximately 200.000 total SNPs analyzed. We then input the scaffolds of interest into BLAST's ORF finder to identify the closet 75+ amino acid ORF to the SNP called by Tassel, which is determined as the protein coding region of that SNP (as shown in the Table of Secondary Markers Associated with Cannabinoid Levels). There were eighteen hypothetical Cannabis proteins thus identified as associated THCA content, and five associated with CBDA content.

Table of Secondary Markers Associated with Cannabinoid Levels: BLAST Suite's ORF Finder identified the most similar known protein to each polypeptide sequence extracted from TASSEL. The scaffold name (second and third columns respectively refer to the number of the published PBBK genome scaffold bearing the SNP and sequence position. The fourth column lists the most relevant substitution allele at that locus. and the fifth the Effect Size score. Column six lists the closest protein homolog with the source-species given in brackets. Column seven lists the BLAST Accession number for the protein, and column eight, the gene position within the scaffold. A negative Effect score denotes a decrease in that cannabinoid --whereas, a positive Effect score denotes an increase-- associated with a given SNP. Al- Ef- Trait Scaffold Site lele fect Protein Observed Accession Region Comb_CBD 013042F 6971 A 52 No Protein around SNPs 001149F 5367 G 61 No Protein around SNPs 010624F 14751 A 72 No Protein around SNPs 009155F 6762 G 133 DNA/RNA polymerase superfamily protein KZV29964.1 13,954-14,484 [Dorcoceras hygrometricum] 006754F 30618 A 40 No Protein around SNPs 005865F 38199 T 25 F-box/RNI-like/FBD-like domains-containing NP_199309.2 28,694-28,993 protein [Arabidopsis thaliana] 003481F 21372 T 24 Small auxin-up RNA [Parasponia andersonii] PON39100.2 24,532-25,131 003481F 21953 C 24 Small auxin-up RNA [Parasponia andersonii] PON39100.1 24,532-25,132 003481F 26146 T 24 Small auxin-up RNA [Parasponia andersonii] PON39100.0 24,532-25,133 003481F 26683 C 24 Small auxin-up RNA [Parasponia andersonii] PON39100.1 24,532-25,134 000260F 152661 C −334 SAM-dependent methyltransferase OOX29851.1 154,525-154,770 [Vibrio parahaemolytlcus] 011482F 6838 A −308 PREDICTED: Juglans regia protein XM_018984311.1 9,081-9,598 MITOFERRINLIKE 1, chloroplastic (LOC109005387), mRNA 011482F 6838 G −251 PREDICTED: Juglans regia protein XM_018984311.1 9,081-9,599 MITOFERRINLIKE 1, chloroplastic (LOC109005387), mRNA Comb_THC 001882F 14364 G −25 PREDICTED: Ziziphus jujuba pentatricopeptide XM_016031081.1 22,856-23,443 repeat-containing protein At1g02150 (LOC107421758), mRNA 004056F 980 T −25 Chalcone and stilbene synthase family protein NP_196897.1 8,448-9,503 [Arabidopsis thaliana] 001450F 44588 C −25 S-receptor-like serine/threonine-protein kinase PON79928.1 45,429-45,896 [Trema orientalis] 001564F 56899 A −24 Powdery mildew resistance protein PON34600.1 63,899-64,618 [Parasponia andersonii] 002204F 17005 A −24 PREDICTED: 5′-3′ exoribonuclease 4-like XP_014629502.1 17,726-17,899 isoform X2 [Glycine max] 002550F 1400 A −24 No Protein around SNPs 003602F 2674 C −24 No Protein around SNPs 000278F 132696 A −24 PREDICTED: ETHYLENE INSENSITIVE 3-like 1 XP_003519487.1 137,785-138,792 protein [Glycine max] 001725F 66867 A −24 Retrovirus-related Pol polyprotein from transposon KHN11334.1 66,945-67,151 TNT 1-94 [Glycine soja] 000707F 70867 C −24 PREDICTED: probable pectate lyase 8 XP_003555714.3 70,964-71,371 [Glycine max] 000093F 7083 C −24 zinc knuckle (CCHC-type) family protein NP_189728.1 5,830-6,648 [Arabidopsis thaliana] 002294F 10311 T −24 gag/pol protein [Bryonia dioica] ADJ18449.1 11,716-11,880 000730F 80162 C −23 hypothetical protein PanWU01x14_132560 PON63346.1  83940-84,329 [Parasponia andersonii] 001554F 10729 A −23 Cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor [Trema orientalis] PON72921.1 7,611-8,216 001554F 10752 A −23 Cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor [Trema orientalis] PON72921.2 7,611-8,217 001554F 10699 T −23 Cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor [Trema orientalis] PON72921.3 7,611-8,218 001814F 2317 C −23 Voltage dependent potassium channel [Trema orientalis] POO03318.1 1,637-2,020 001814F 3188 A −23 K-box region protein (DUF1985) [Arabidopsis thaliana] NP_001321227.1 161,149-161,913 000253F 88574 G −23 MYB transcription factor [Trema orientalis] PON92936.1 83,629-84,291 002976F 37970 G −23 ty3-gypsy retrotransposon protein [Cucumis melo ADN34002.1 33,914-34,258 subsp. melo] 000209F 125278 G 48 Glycosyl transferase [Parasponia andersonii] PON50067.1 124,028-124,366 000209F 125278 A 27 Glycosyl transferase [Parasponia andersonii] PON50067.1 124,028-124,366 000807F 64363 A 24 retrotransposon protein, putative, Ty1-copia subclass ABA98656.1 64,022-65,611 [Oryza sativa Japonica Group]

Example 3 Morphological Changes in Folded Enzymes

Through modeling the enzymes on I-Tasser, we concluded that there were structural and enzymatic differences between different cultivars and paralogs. The cultivars were classified into three groups that were representative of each phylogenetic cluster of the ML trees. A representative strain was chosen from each: Super Lemon Haze, Harlequin, and ACDC. Using the complete 1635 bp THCA synthase gene to model the enzyme folding, we found the amino acid sequence similarity to THCA synthase ranged from 78% to 97.4% similar (see Table of I-Tasser Structure Prediction Analysis). Furthermore, this analysis showed that the binding affinity for FAD, a cofactor in the conversion of CBGA to THCA, differed between the hypothetical synthases. We observed the lowest binding affinity (with a C-Score of 0.83) for the SLH strain in the 0008242F paralog, as well as the highest affinity (with a C-Score of 0.9) in the SLH and ACDC strains in the 0001774F paralog (SEQ ID NO:1). These binding affinities were calculated using automatically generated binding sites based on the folded enzyme conformation. The amino acid sites l-Tasser identified as interacting with FAD were amino acid residues 69, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 119, 120, 132, 151, 174, 175, 176, 179, 180, 182, 183, 184, 186, 189, 190, 235, 239, 240, 241, 481, 483, and 533.

Table of I-Tasser Structure Prediction Analysis. I-Tasser Structure Prediction Tools were used to model the structural changes to the synthase enzyme due to the variance we observed in the amplified region. The Identity is the percentage sequence identity in the structurally aligned region to the known THCA Synthase Enzyme (PDB:3vteA). The TM-Score describes the rating between the query structure and known structures in the PDB library. The root-mean-standard-deviation (RMSD) describes the variance between residues that are structurally aligned by TM-align. Coverage represents the coverage of the alignment by TM-align and is equal to the number of structurally aligned residues divided by length of the query protein. The confidence score (C- Score) ranges [0-1], where a higher score indicates a more reliable prediction to binding to the FAD (PDB:3w8wA) ligand determined by the COACH program. c395 d589 c8242 STRAIN: SLH ACDC HQ SLH ACDC HQ SLH ACDC HQ Identity 0.838 0.834 0.828 0.936 0.974 0.956 0.78 0.834 0.817 TM-Score 0.919 0.917 0.919 0.918 0.918 0.886 0.898 0.917 0.915 RMSD 0.42 0.5 0.41 0.37 0.49 0.37 1.39 0.54 0.65 Coverage 0.921 0.921 0.921 0.92 0.921 0.921 0.919 0.921 0.92 Cscore - 3w8wA 0.88 0.86 0.84 0.9 0.9 0.87 0.83 0.86 0.88

DISCUSSION

In the past few years, the understanding of cannabinoid synthases has greatly advanced, which portrays a more complex system than previously thought. These enzymes were originally described as a single locus with two codominant alleles (de Meijer et al., 2003), although multiple pseudogenes and paralogs of these synthases in the genome were recently discovered (McKernan et al. 2015). Recent research established that the genes related to CBDAS and THCAS were in very close proximity, and that multiple loci might be related to the production and expression of both compounds (Weiblein et al. 2015). Our studies agree that multiple loci are involved in cannabinoid production, through the identification and targeting of these synthase genes in numerous cultivars.

While primer sets have been developed for the single loci allele model of THCAS gene, these fail to test for the newly discovered paralogs, which have been shown to correlate to cannabinoid content. The primers c395 and c8242 of this disclosure are specific to the paralogs on the 0395.1 and 8242.1 scaffolds of the PBBK assembly, however, the c395 reverse primer has two binding sites in the genome, which leads to lower quality sanger sequencing than the c8242 primer set.

Through testing multiple areas within the synthase paralogs, we discovered the primers' amplicons show different degrees of variation between cultivars. This suggests that some primer sets, and therefore paralogs, were better indicators of phylogeny. However, when comparing monothetic trees based on internal segments of the synthase to the previously-published phylogenetic relationship between Cannabis varieties (Lynch et al. 2016) constructed from full-length alignments using GBS and WGS data, we find the former are less informative and less consistent. Both the c395 and d589 primers resolve some of the high-THCA and high-CBDA varieties into groups; however, their respective monothetic phylogenies fail to distinguish all cultivars correctly (FIGS. 1A and 1C).

The d589 tree (FIG. 1C), shows the best segregation of cultivars for cannabinoid content and groups the known synthases together, which suggests this region of the synthase is likely responsible for product specificity. The c8242 primer set is the least phylogenetically descriptive primers since most cultivars similar in chemotypes are not in the same clades, which suggests that the regions amplified from these primers are highly conserved among the varieties with very few informative polymorphisms.

While the synthase enzymes are a necessary component of cannabinoid bioaccumulation, other regions of the genome also potentially contribute, especially those encoding enzymes responsible for upstream precursors such as olivetolic acid (Taura, 2009). Weiblen et al. (2015) suggested the trichome genes as an area of interest. Although genes controlling upstream biosynthesis and trichome development lacked correlation to cannabinoid content in the TASSEL analysis of the WGS reads, it appears that hormonal-response-factor-like proteins, kinase-like proteins, and DNA/RNA-binding-like proteins potentially have key roles in chemotype development. In Arabidopsis thaliana, a group of hormone-responsive transcription factors—the ethylene-responsive-element-binding factors (ERF)—control the production of secondary metabolites against pathogens (Singh et al., 2002), providing both a precedent and model for our above-cited findings.

While this research is a significant improvement in our grasp of the cannabinoid biosynthetic pathway, there is still much to be learned about this complex system of enzymes. The paralog identification markers we developed can be used by breeders to control the presence or absence of certain synthase activities within their cultivars and increase the speed of selective breeding dramatically. Furthermore, these markers can be implemented in various high-throughput screening protocols such as qPCR, HRM, DGGE, and other amplicon-based screening methodologies. Additionally, this new marker system can be used by governmental agencies to identify drug-producing cultivars, where the possession of such plants is still illegal.

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The various features and processes described above may be used independently of one another, or may be combined in various ways. All possible combinations and subcombinations are intended to fall within the scope of this disclosure. In addition, certain method or process blocks may be omitted in some implementations. The methods and processes described herein are also not limited to any particular sequence, and the blocks or states relating thereto can be performed in other sequences that are appropriate. For example, described blocks or states may be performed in an order other than that specifically disclosed, or multiple blocks or states may be combined in a single block or state. The example blocks or states may be performed in serial, in parallel, or in some other manner. Blocks or states may be added to or removed from the disclosed example embodiments. The example systems and components described herein may be configured differently than described. For example, elements may be added to, removed from, or rearranged compared to the disclosed example embodiments.

Conditional language used herein, such as, among others, “can,” “could,” “might,” “may,” “e.g.,” and the like, unless specifically stated otherwise, or otherwise understood within the context as used, is generally intended to convey that certain embodiments include, while other embodiments do not include, certain features, elements, and/or steps. Thus, such conditional language is not generally intended to imply that features, elements and/or steps are in any way required for one or more embodiments or that one or more embodiments necessarily include logic for deciding, with or without author input or prompting, whether these features, elements and/or steps are included or are to be performed in any particular embodiment. The terms “comprising,” “including,” “having.” and the like are synonymous and are used inclusively, in an open-ended fashion, and do not exclude additional elements, features, acts, operations, and so forth. Also, the term “or” is used in its inclusive sense (and not in its exclusive sense) so that when used, for example, to connect a list of elements, the term “or” means one, some, or all of the elements in the list.

While certain example embodiments have been described, these embodiments have been presented by way of example only, and are not intended to limit the scope of the inventions disclosed herein. Thus, nothing in the foregoing description is intended to imply that any particular feature, characteristic, step, module, or block is necessary or indispensable. Indeed, the novel methods and systems described herein may be embodied in a variety of other forms; furthermore, various omissions, substitutions and changes in the form of the methods and systems described herein may be made without departing from the spirit of the inventions disclosed herein. The accompanying claims and their equivalents are intended to cover such forms or modifications as would fall within the scope and spirit of certain of the inventions disclosed herein. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for producing a cannabis plant cultivar, comprising: identifying one or more single-locus non-functional paralogs of a cannabinoid synthase gene in two or more cannabis plant cultivars wherein the identified non-functional paralogs correspond to either a functional paralog or a non-functional paralog of the cannabinoid synthase gene, and the identifying comprises PCR amplification using a primer set selected from the group consisting of: a) the primer set: F: (SEQ ID NO: 13) 5′ TCACCTCTAACACAACCCCAAAA 3′ R: (SEQ ID NO: 14) 5′ CCAAAAGAGA TCTTCCCCCA TA 3′ and b) the primer set: F: (SEQ ID NO: 15) 5′ GCGTTGTACCCTTACGGTTG 3′ R: (SEQ ID NO: 16) 5′ TTTTGACTCTTGGGATCATTTATTC 3′

and crossbreeding two individual cannabis plant cultivars identified to have desired effects on cannabinoid production in the cannabis plant.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the cannabinoid synthase gene is selected from delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinolic acid (THCA) and Cannabidolic acid (CBDA) synthase.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the cannabinoid synthase gene is CBDA synthase.
 4. The method. of claim 1, wherein the identifying comprises PCR amplification of a composition comprising genomic DNA or cDNA from the two or more cannabis plant cultivars.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the crossbreeding selects for a cannabis plant cultivar having a greater CBDA content than the two identified individual cannabis plant cultivars.
 6. The method of claim
 1. wherein the crossbreeding selects for a cannabis plant cultivar having a lower CBDA content than the two identified individual cannabis plant cultivars.
 7. The method of claim 5, wherein the CBDA content of the cannabis plant cultivar resulting from the crossbreeding step is a result of i) greater enzymatic activity of a functional CBDA synthase paralog identified in two or more cannabis plant, cultivars; or ii) greater copy number of a functional CBDA synthase paralog.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the identified non-functional paralog comprises at least one of paralogs 008242 and 00395, wherein 008242 and 00395 comprise CBDA synthase paralogs and are located on a scaffold 08242F having scaffold accession number MXDB010008229.1 and. 00395F having scaffold accession number MXDB01000395.1 respectively of a Pineapple-Banana-Bubba-Kush (PBBK) marijuana cultivar.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein said crossbreeding further comprises crossing a first cannabis plant, wherein said first cannabis plant provides desired. cannabinoid. content using the identified non-functional. paralogs with a second cannabis plant having a desired effect on cannabinoid production, and harvesting the resultant hybrid cannabis seed.
 10. The method of claim 1., wherein said crossbreeding further comprises introgressing CBDA production into hybrid cannabis seed.
 11. The method of claim 1., wherein said crossbreeding further comprises one or more of a backcrossing, an outcrossing, and a self-crossing.
 12. A method for producing a cannabis plant cultivar, comprising: identifying one or more single-locus non-functional paralogs of a cannabinoid synthase gene in two or more cannabis plant cultivars wherein the identified non-functional paralogs correspond to either a functional paralog or a non-functional paralog of the cannabinoid synthase gene; and crossbreeding two individual cannabis plant cultivars identified to have desired effects on cannabinoid production in the cannabis plant, wherein the cannabis cultivar comprises one or more DNA molecular markers associated with. CBDA synthase activity, the one or more DNA molecular markers comprising a nucleotide sequence that encodes an amino acid substitution identified in any one of the CBDA synthase amino acid. substitutions of FIGS. 3A-3C.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein said identifying paralogs of a cannabinoid synthase gene further comprises molecular marker analysis of DNA samples isolated from one or more of a progeny plant, a second cannabis plant, a high CBDA producing cannabis cultivar, a parental cannabis cultivar, and a low CBDA producing cannabis cultivar, wherein said analysis identifies DNA molecules associated. with CBDA. content in the cannabis plant.
 14. The method of claim 13, wherein the molecular marker is a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP).
 15. The method of claim 5, wherein the CBDA content of the cannabis plant cultivar resulting from the crossbreeding step is a result of i) greater enzymatic activity of a CBDA paralog identified in two or more cannabis plant cultivars; or ii) greater copy number of a CBDA.
 16. The method of claim 5, wherein the CBDA content of the cannabis plant cultivar resulting from the crossbreeding step i.s a result of i) lesser enzymatic activity of a non-functional THCA synthase paralog identified in two or more cannabis plant cultivars; or ii) lesser copy number of a non-functional THCA synthase paralog.
 17. The method of claim 6, wherein the CBDA content of the cannabis plant cultivar resulting from the crossbreeding step is a result of i) greater enzymatic activity of a functional THCA synthase paralog identified in two or more cannabis plant cultivars; or if) greater copy number of a functional THCA synthase paralog.
 18. The method of claim 6, wherein the CBDA content of the cannabis plant cultivar resulting from the crossbreeding step is a result of i.) lesser enzymatic activity of a non-functional CBDA syntha.se paralog identified in two or more cannabis plant cultivars; or ii) lesser copy number of a non-functional CBDA. synthase paralog.
 19. The method of claim 12, wherein the identifying comprises PCR amplification of the one or more DNA molecular markers using a primer set selected from the group consisting of: (SEQ ID NO: 13) 5′ TCACCTCTAACACAACCCCAAAA 3′ (SEQ ID NO: 14) 5′ CCAAAAGAGATCTTCCCCCATA 3′ (SEQ ID NO: 15) 5′ GCGTTGTACCCCTTACGGTTG 3′, and (SEQ ID NO: 16) 5′ TTTTGACTCTTGGGATCATTTATTC 3′ 